Full text of "Complete Report of the Committee on Public Information: 1917, 1918, 1919"

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Complete Report

ofihe

Chairman of the Committee
on Public Informatioii

1917 : 1918 : 19l9

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1920

CONTENTS.

Page.

Oeneral survey of activities 1

Financial report 8

Voluntary censorship 10

Division of News ^ 12

Division of Civic and Educational Cooperation 15

Division of Production and Distribution 19

Four-Minute Men 21

Speaking Division 32

Advertising Division 43

Division of Films 47

Financial report of Division of Films 49

Bureau of Distribution of the Division of Films 51

Educational Department of the Division of Films 55

Scenario Department of the Division of Films 56

Bureau of War Expositions 59

Bureau of War Photographs 61

Official Bulletin 63

Service Bureau ' 67

Exhibits at State fairs 71

^ Division of Syndicate Features 74

Division of Women's War Work 75

Bureau of Cartoons 76

Division of Business Management 78

Division of Work among the Foreign Born 78

Fourth of July demonstration 81

Scandinavian Bureau 85

Polish Bureau. 86

Ukrainian Bureau 87

Lithuanian Bureau 88

Czechoslovak Bureau 88

German Bureau 89

Hungarian Bureau . ; 91

Italian Bureau : 92

Russian Bureau 93

Jugoslav Bureau 93

Motion-picture export... 103

Showing America to the foreign press 104

Work of the Foreign Section 108

Wireless and cable service 109

Enemv propaganda * 114

III

CONTENTS.

Page,

Sustaining Soldiers' Morale 115

Front news service 116

Cooperation with the world press 117

Personnel of the division 118

Post-war work 119

Summary of press-cable service 121

Foreign Press Bureau 127

Foreign pictorial service, 134

Foreign film activities 140

Foreign picture service 147

Reports from foreign commissioners 1 149

Report on the work in Mexico. By Robert H. Murray 149

Report on the work in France. By James Kerney 166

Enemy propaganda from France 173

Work in Holland. By Henry Suydam 175

Work in Switzerland. By Vira B. ViTiitehouse 183

Further Work in Switzerland. By Guy Croswell Smith 189

Work in Italy. By John H. Hearley 191

Work in Spain. By Frank J. Marion 194

Work in Denmark. By Edward V, Riis 201

Work in Russia 212

General Introduction. By Edgar G. Sisson 214

Moscow and Petrograd. By Read Lewis 221

Siberian activities. Report by Malcolm Davis 230

Russian Motion- Picture Division 244

Publications in Russia. By Graham R. Taylor 247

Letters from Russian organizations 257

Distribution of literature in Russia 267

Work in Archangel. By Read Lewis 273

Work in China. Report by Carl Crow 274

Work in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. By H. H. Sevier 279

Work in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. By C. N. Griffis 283

Other work in South America 290

Work in Sweden and Norway 290

COMPLETE REPORT

OF THE

CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC
INFORMATION.

New York. June 1919.

To the President:

I have the honor to submit herewith a full report of the
activities of the Committee on Public Information from the
time of its establishment to the period of its conclusion.

Created under your Executive order of April 14, 1917, in
the very first hours of the war, and forced into instant opera-
tion by imperative necessities, the committee had to start with
a purpose only, rather than any predetermined program, and
grew under pressure instead of the orderly sequence provided
by deliberated plan. This primary purpose was to drive home
the absolute justice of America's cause, the absolute selfless-
ness of America's aims.

Eealizing public opinion as a vital part of the national de-
fense, a mighty force in the national attack, our task was to
devise machinery with which to make the fight for loyalty
and unity at home, and for the friendship and understanding
of the neutral nations of the world.

At no point were our functions negative. We dealt in the
positive, and our emphasis was ever on expression, not sup-
pression. We fought indifference and disaffection in the
United States and we fought falsehood abroad. We strove
for the maintenance of our own morale by every process of
stimulation ; we sought the verdict of mankind by truth tell-
ing. We did not call it " propaganda," for that word, in Ger-
man hands, had come to be associated with lies and corrup-
tions. Our work was educational and informative only, for
we had such confidence in our case as to feel that only fair
presentation of its facts was needed.

121033—20 1

REPORT COMMITTEE Olf PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Under the insistence of this necessity, the committee grew
to be a world organization. Not only did it reach deep into
every community in the United States, but it carried the aims
and objects of America to every land.

There was no part of the great war machinery that we did
not touch, no medium of appeal that we did not emplo}^ The
printed word, the spoken word, the motion picture, the poster,
the signboard — all these were used in our campaign to make
our own people and all other peoples understand the causes
that compelled America to take arms in defense of its liberties
and free institutions.

Besides the daily war news, issued officially to the whole
press of the countr}?', the committee supplied the specialized
press with feature articles and selected services. We had deep
appreciation that it was not the war of an administration, but
the war of 110,000,000 people, and even to the point of mili-
tary indiscretion we opened up the activities of the Govern-
ment to the inspection of the citizenship. Of 6,000 releases,
dealing Avith the most vital importances, only three were ques-
tioned as to accuracy, and inquiry upheld two of these.

In the Four Minute Men alone the committee commanded
the volunteer services of 75,000 speakers, operating in 5,200
communities, and making a total of 755,190 speeches.

Through the speaking division it toured great groups, like
the Blue Devils, Pershing's Veterans, and the Belgians, ar-
ranged mass meetings, conducted 45 war conferences, sent
famous speakers from coast to coast, and coordinated the
speaking activities of the entire Kation«

Through a pamphlet division it prepared and published
the war literature that was issued in pamphlet form. It
commanded the services of any writer that it chose to call,
and at its back were over 3,000 of the leading historians of
the country, every man in the service. These pamphlets, cov-
ering every phase of America's ideals, purposes, and aims,
were printed in many languages. Seventy-five millions
reached the people of America, and other millions went to
every corner of the world, carrying our defense and our
attack. Experts planned the most effective circulation
schemes, and experts directed the distribution, in order that
every printed bullet might reach its mark.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

The committee mobilized the advertising forces of the
country — press, periodical, car, and outdoor — for the patri-
otic campaign that gave millions of dollars' worth of free
space to the national service.

It mobilized the artists of America, on a volunteer basis,
for the production of posters, window cards, and similar ma-
terial of pictorial publicity for the use of various Govern-
ment departments and patriotic societies. A total of 1,438
drawings were used.

It issued an official daily newspaper, serving every depart-
ment of Government, with a circulation^ of 100,000 copies
a day. For official use only its value wgCs such that private
citizens ignored the supposedly prohibitive subscription price,
subscribing to the amount of $77,622.58.

With the aid of a volunteer staff of several hundred trans-
lators the committee kept in direct touch with the foreign-
language press, supphdng selected articles designed to com-
bat ignorance and disaffection.

It organized and directed 23 societies and leagues designed
to appeal to certain classes and particular foreign-language
groups, each body carrying a specific message of unity and
enthusiasm to its section of America's adopted peoples.

It acted as a bureau of information for all persons who
sought direction in volunteer war work, in acquiring knowl-
• edge of any administrative activities, or in approaching busi-
ness dealings with the Government. In the 10 months of its
existence it gave answers to 86,000 requests for specific
information.

The committee supervised the voluntary censorship of the
newspaper and periodical press.

It established rules and regulations for the cable censorship
with respect to press dispatches.

It planned war exhibits for the State fairs of the United
States, also the great series of interallied war expositions
that brought home to our millions the exact nature of the
struggle that was being waged in France. In Chicago alone
2,000,000 people attended in two weeks, and in 19 cities the
receipts aggregated $1,432,261.36.

It gathered together the leading novelists, essayists, and
publicists of the land, and these men and women, without

4 'report COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC INFORMATION.

payment, worked faithfully in the production of brilliant,
comprehensive articles that went to the press as syndicate
features.

One division paid particular attention to the rural press
and the plate . matter service. Others looked after the
specialized needs of the labor press, the religious press, and
the periodical press. The Division of Women's War Work
prepared and issued the information of peculiar interest to
the women of the United States, also aiding in the task of
organizing and directing.

Through the medium of the motion picture America's war
progress, as well as the meanings and purposes of democrac}^,
were carried to every community in the United States and to
every corner of the world. Pershing's Crusaders, America's
Answer, and Under Four Flags were types of feature films
by which we drove home America's resources and determina-
tions, while other pictures, showing our social and industrial
life, made our free institutions vivid to foreign peoples.
From the domestic showings alone, under a fair plan of dis-
tribution, the sum of $878,215 was gained, which went to sup-
port the cost of the campaigns in foreign countries that were
necessarily free.

Another division prepared and distributed still photo-
graphs and siereopticon slides to the press and public, over
200,000 of the latter being issued at cost. This division also
conceived the idea of the " permit system " that opened up^
our military and naval activities to civilian camera men, and
operated it successfully. It handled also the voluntary cen-
sorship of still and motion pictures in order that there might
be no disclosure of information valuable to the enemy, the
number averaging 700 a day.

Another division, in New York, guarded the reputation
of America in foreign countries by stopping the export of
film giving false or misleading impressions of American
life. By an arrangement with the War Trade Board, no
export license was granted without the approval of the
committee, and this leverage, aided by the patriotism of the
industry, enabled us to control the flow of film to foreign
countries, changing it in such manner as to serve the national
cause.

REPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Soon discovering that the fight for world opinion must
be made on the ground, the committee opened offices in every
capital of the Avorld. To these offices Avent a cable and Avire-
less service carrying* the " spot " news of the da}' ; a mail
feature service ; still photographs and posters- for window
display ; feature films showing our military effort, our social
and industrial progress; pamphlets for translation and dis-
tribution; s^Deakers to augment the efforts of those secured
in the country itself, etc.

At the outset we found that America was dependent upon
foreign press services for her intercourse with other coun-
tries; that the volume of information was small, and what
was worse, concerned only with the violent and unusual in
our national life. The wireless and cables ere used to remedy
this evil situation. In close cooperation Avith the Navy, a
service Avent out from Tuckerton to the Eiffel ToAver for use
in France, and then for relay to our offices in Berne, Eome,
Madrid, and Lisbon. From Tuckerton the service flashed to
England, and from England there Avas relay to Holland,
the ScandinaAdan countries, and Russia. We Avent into
Mexico by cable and land wires ; from Darien Ave sent a serv-
ice in Spanish to Central and South American countries for
distribution by our representatiA^es ; the Orient Avas served
by leaps from NeAv York to San Diego, to Cavite to Shanghai.
From Shanghai the news went to Tokio and Pekin, and
from Pekin on to A^laclivostok for Siberiai Australia,
India, Egj^-pt, and the Balkans were also reached, and by
balloons, mortars, and aeroplanes Ave carried the truth across
the firing line into the Central Powers.

For the first time in history the speeches of a national
executive were given universal circulation, and I am proud
to tell you, sir, that your declarations had the force of
armies.

In many countries your speeches were printed by the com-
mitWe's agents on native presses and circulated by the million.
They were sent out by the million from Araerica in a score of
languages. They were printed on post cards and embodied
in moving-picture films and interpreted by the committee's
speakers. The acts of Congress, all of our official deeds and
utterances, the laws that showed our devotion to justice,.

6 KEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

instances of our enthusiasm and unity — all were put into print
in every language— Teheran and Tokio getting them as com-
pletely as Paris or Rome or London or Madrid.

Before this flood of publicity the German misrepresenta-
tions were ^wept away in Switzerland, the Scandinavian
countries, Italy, Spain, the Far East, Mexico, Central and
South America. From being the most misunderstood nation
in the world, America became the most popular.

This daily news service by wire and radio was supplemented
by a mail service of special articles and illustrations that
went into foreign newspapers and magazines and technical
journals and periodicals of special appeal. We aimed to give
in this way a true picture of the American democracy, not
only in its war activities but also in its devotion to the inter-
ests of peace. There were, too, series of illustrated articles
on our education, our trade and industry, our finance, our
labor conditions, our religions, our work in medicine, our
agriculture, our women's work, our Government, and our
ideals.

Reading rooms were opened in foreign countries and fur-
nished with American books, periodicals, and newspapers.
Schools and public libraries were similarly supplied. IPho-
tographs were sent for display on easels in shop windows
abroad. Window hangers and news-display sheets went out
in English, French, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, Spanish,
Danish, Norwegian, and Dutch; and display sheets went to
Russia, China, Japan, chosen parts of India, and the Orient,
to be supplemented with printed reading matter by the com-
mittee's agents there. Every conceivable means was used to
reach the foreign mind with America's message.

And there was no bribery, no sneaking influence of any
sort. We got into the foreign press by the simple expedient
of making our output so newsy and so interesting that the
editor could not resist it. The records show that as high as
90 per cent of our material was printed in foreign countries,
despite the shortage of paper everywhere and the pressure of
war news on newspaper space.

Many of the foreign problems were far from simple.
When our propaganda films began to go abroad it was found
that the Germany had bought up practically all the moving-
picture houses in some of the neutral countries. They were

KEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOliir. 7

busy with German propaganda films. They would not take
American war pictures on any terms. It looked like a com-
plete blockade for the committee's films, but a way was
found to submarine it. The heads of the American exporting
companies met with the committee's officers and agreed that
no American films should be exported unless a certain amount
of American propaganda film was included in the order.
The foreign movie houses could not live without American
film. The war had reduced the output of the foreign film
companies to a minimum. The German-owned movie houses
had either to capitulate or starve to death. Some took one
alternative, some the other, but practically all gave up the
fight. Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford led Pershing's
Crusaders and America's Answer into the enemy's territory
and smashed another Hindenburg line.

The net effect of the whole foreign campaign of the com-
mittee has been to make a world of friends and well-wishers
for the United States out of a world that was either inimical
or contemptuous or indifferent. We were looked upon as a
Nation of doUar-mad materialists. All the American news
in foreign papers confirmed that view of us. It was news of
strikes and lynchings, r^iots, murder cases, graft prosecutions,
and all the public washing of the Nation's dirty linen. Our
policies, America's unselfish aims in the war, the services by
which these policies were explained and these aims sup-
ported, and the flood of news items and articles about our
normal life and our commonplace activities — these have com-
bined to give a picture of the United States to foreign eyes
more truthful and more flattering. It is a picture that is of
incalculable value in our future dealings with the world,
political and commercial. It is a bit of press agenting that
money could not buy, done out of patriotism by men and.
women whose services no money could have bought.

Even as the Committee on Public Information claims suc-
cess in its fight for public opinion in other countries, so does
it advance its pride in the unit}^ and enthusiasm that marked
America's war effort. The foreign born, feared with respect
to their ignorances and prejudices, were brought into closer
touch with our national life than ever before, while absolute
openness and honesty in the matter of official news, the elo-
quence of speakers, the story of motion pictures and posters,

8 BEPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOBMATIOK".

all combined to banish the ignorances and indifferences that
threatened the full loyalty of the native born.

I am happy to report that your original instructions have
been disregarded in no single particular. The activities of
the committee have been open and honest. There is not one
that we are ashamed to reveal. No dollar has ever been sent
on a furtive errand. Neither at home nor abroad has a cent
been spent for any secret or corrupt purpose.

It may be asserted also that the most searching investiga-
tion will discover no waste, but that study of the following
tables will reveal a care and economy in expenditure that is
in itself a striking testimonial to the intelligence and devo-
tion of the men and women associated in the work.
1. Funds received by the Committee on PubUc Informa-

tion from appropriations :

From the President, 1917-1919 $5, 600, 000. 00

From Congress, 1918-19 1, 250, 000. 00

Total 6, 850, 000. 00

2. Receipts by committee from earnings, 1917-1919 2, 825, 670. 23

3. Total moneys received by committee:

Appropriation 6, 850, 000. 00

Earnings and miscellaneous receipts „ 2, 825, 670. 23

Total „„„ „ „ 9, 675, 670. 23

4. Committee expenditure (domestic and foreign, 1917-
1919) :

From national security and defense 4, 236, 494. 54

From congressional appropriation 1, 305, 715. 23

From earnings 1, 748, 062. 85

Total 7, 290, 272. 62

5. Returned to appropriations;

National security and defense 1, 754, 322. 12

Congressional appropriations 573, 549. 60

Miscellaneous receipts 57, 525. 89

Total „ 2, 385, 397. 61

6. What the committee cost the Government from Apr.

14, 1917, to June 1, 1919 4, 464, 602. 39

REPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

6. Statement of expenditures hy divisions of the Committee on Puhlic
Information from the organization of each division to June 1, 1919.

DOMESTIC WORK.

Executive

State Fair Exhibitions

Civic and Educational

Official War Savings Bulletin ■

Division of Spealdng

Division of Four Minute Men

Division of News

Division of Syndicate Features

Division of Films

Bureau of Expositions

Bureau of War Photographs

Division of Foreign Language News-
papers

Division of Business Management

Division of Distribution and Produc-
tion

Division of Labor Publications

Division of Women's War Work ,

Service Bureau ,

Division of Pictorial Publicity

Division of Advertising

Division of Industrial Relations

Division of Americanization Survey. , .

Appropriation.

National

security and
defense
expenses,
1918.

Salaries and
expenses,
Committee
on Public
Information,
1919.

$48,886.92
1,635. 49

457, 973. 32

264, 272. 26
52, 158. 11
72, 870. 46
37, 873. 75
15, 407. 96

217, 250. 03

23, 616. 57

9, 080. 57
109,940. 55

126,997. 79
51,754. 44
19,956. 42
14, 810. 95
8, 310. 35
12, 612. 93
920. 75
2, 709. 00

Total 1,549,038.62 1,305,715.23 1,713,667-69 4,568,321.54

$24,
1

110,
470,
18,
67,
38,

192,

;.88
982. 07
332. 76
609. 17
685. 63
279. 94
450. 07
438. 18
729. 08

«. 63

Disburse-
ments from
earnings.

$656, 751.48
1,006,142. 80
50,643. 06

187,610.82

102,673.41 ;
18,127.18 ;
2, 354. 01
28,884.86
4, 860. ()2
9, 899. 69
.23

30.35

FOREIGN WORK.

Foreign Section

Foreign Picture Service. . .

Foreign Press— Mail

Foreign Press— Cable

Peace Conference

Work with Foreign Born..

Hungarian Bureau

Scandinavian Bureau

Polish Bureau

German Bureau

Italian Bureau

Lithuanian BUreau

Czecho-Slovak

Jugo-Slav

Russian Bureau

Four Minute Men

Appropriation.

National
Security and
Defense Ex-
penses, 1918.

National
Security and

Defense
Committee
on Public
Information,
1919.

$871,373.56
85, 427.41
11,133.45
112,162.60

12, 488.41
4,693.93
54.00
12, 172. 70

Total.

$852,
206,

i4i;

181,
60,

3o;

35,
4,
32,
10;

1,
3,
3i
2,

587. 95
026. 08
004. 82
106.52
000.00
923. 76
200. 07
194.06
797. 49
677. 07
094. 87
819.80
629. 17
603.49
252. 18
032. 53

$1,723,961.51
291,453.49
152, 138. 27
293,269.12
60,000.00
30.923.76
2i; 688. 48
39, 887.99
4, 851.49
44, 849. 77
10, 094, 87
3, 819. 80
1, 629. 17
3,603.49
3, 252. 18
2, 032. 53

Total jl, 109, 506. 06

1,677,949.86 12,721,951.0

$34, 495. 16

34,495.16

10 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

7. Receipts from the activities of the Gonwiittee on Puhlic Information,

Division of Films $859, 994. 35

Bureau of Expositions 1, 438, 004. 24

Bureau of War Photographs 70, 600. 10

Division of Distribution , 19, 509. 22

OfRcial Bulletin 71, 323. 80

Foreign Section films 179,439.70

Miscellaneous refunds and receipts 186, 798. 82

2, 825, 670. 23

PART I.

Work of the Domestic Section of the Committee on Public In-
formation.

In no other belligerent nation was there any such degree
of centralization as marked the duties of the Committee on
Public Information. In England and France, for instance,
five and more organizations were intrusted with the tasks
that this committee discharged in the United States. And in
one country, in one year, many of the warring nations spent
more money than the total expenditure of the Committee on
Public Information during the 18 months of its existence in
its varied activities that reached to every community in
America and to every corner of the civilized world.

A brief outline of the work, division by division, is here-
with appended:

THE VOLUNTARY CENSORSHIP.

Despite general opinion, the Committee on Public Infor-
mation was not an agency of censorship, nor was the press of
the United States at any time under any compulsion of
statute in the sense that the European press was curbed and
supervised. Instead of being bound by prohibitive laws,
backed by drastic penalties, the newspapers of the United
States were put upon their honor, and made the partners of
Government in guarding " military information of tangible
benefit to the enemy."

The Committee on Public Information had its sole connec-
tion with press censorship in the issuance of the following
card, which will show in itself the baselessness of those
rumors that charged control of " opinion " and " criticism."

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT ASKS OF THE PRESS.

The desires of the Government with respect to the concealment from
the enemy of miUtary poUcies, plans, and movements are set forth in

BEPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATION. 11

the following specific requests. They go to the press of the United
States directly from the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the
Navy and represent the thought and advice of their technical advisers.
They do not apply to news dispatches censored by military authority
with the expeditionary forces or in those cases where the Government
itself, in the form of official statements, may find it necessary or ex-
pedient to make public information covered by these requests.

For the protection of our military and naval forces and of mer-
chant shipping it is requested that secrecy be observed in all matters
of—

1. Advance information of the routes and schedules of troop move-
ments. (See par. 5.)

2. Information tending to disclose the number of troops in the ex-
peditionary forces abroad.

3. Information calculated to disclose the location of the permanent
base or bases abroad.

4. Information that would disclose the location of American units
or the eventual position of the American forces at the front.

5. Information tending to disclose an eventual or actual port of
embarkation; or information of the movement of military forces to-
ward seaports or of the assembling of military forces at seaports
from which inference might be drawn of any intention to embark them
for service abroad ; and information of the assembling of transports
or convoys ; and information of the embarkation itself,

6. Information of the arrival at any European port of American
war vessels, transports, or any portion of any expeditionary force,
combatant or noncombatant.

7. Information of the time of departure of merchant ships from
American or European ports, or information of the ports from which
they sailed, or information of their cargoes.

8. Information indicating the port of arrival of incoming ships
from European ports or after their arrival indicating, or hinting at,
the port at which the ship arrived.

9. Information as to convoys and as to the sighting of friendly or
enemy ships, whether naval or merchant.

10. Information of the locality, number, or identity of vessels be-
longing to our own Navy or to the navies of any country at war witvh
Germany.

11. Information of the coast or antiaircraft defenses of the United
States. Any information of their very existence, as well as the num-
ber, nature, or position of their guns, is dangerous.

12. Information of the laying of mines or mine fields or of any
harbor defenses.

13. Information of the aircraft and appurtenances used at Gov-
ernment aviation schools for experimental tests under military au-
thority, and information of contracts and production of air mate-
rial, and information tending to disclose the numbers and organiza-
tion of the air division, excepting when authorized by the Committee
on Public Information.

12 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

14. Information of all Government devices and experiments in war
material, excepting when authorized by the Committee on Public
Information.

15. Information of secret notices issued to mariners or other con-
fidential instructions issued by the Navy or the Department of Com-
merce relating to lights, lightships, buoys, or ovher guides to naviga-
tion.

16. Information as to the number, size, character, or location of
ships of the Navy ordered laid down at any port or shipyard, or in
actual process of construction ; or information that they are launched
or in commission.

17. Information of the train or boat schedules of traveling official
missions in transit through the United States.

18. Information of the transportation of munitions or of war
material.

Photographs. — Photographs conveying the information specified
above should not be published.

These requests to the press without larger authority than the
necessities of the war-making branches. Their enforcement is a mat-
ter for the press itself. To the overwhelming proportion of news-
papers who have given unselfish, patriotic adherence to the voluntary
agreement, the Government extends its gratitude and high apprecia-
tion.

Committee on Public Information,
By Geoege Geeel, Chairman.

As will be seen, no law stood behind these requests, com-
pliance resting entirely upon honor and patriotism. There
were violations, as a matter of course, but as it was realized
that the requests of Government were concerned with human
lives and national hopes^ as it was driven home that the pass-
ing satisfaction of a news item might endanger a transport or
a troop train, the voluntary censorship grew in strength and
certainty.

DIVISION OF NEWS.

A first duty of the committee, as we saw it, was the coordi-
nation and control of the daily news of military operations
given out by the war-making branches of Government. The
work was soon turned over to the Division of News, which be-
came the sole medium for the issuance of official war infor-
mation, and acted not only for the Army and Navy, but for
the White House, the Department of Justice, the Department
of Labor, the National War Labor Board, the Council of Na-
tional Defense, the War Industries Board, the War Trade
Board, and the Alien Property Custodian. It had its sworn
representatives in the war-making branches of the Govern-

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 13

ment, trained newspaper men whose duty was to 0|)en up
operations to the inspection of the people. The committee
believed that public support was a matter of public under-
standing, and it became the duty of the division to take dead-
wood out of the channels of information, permitting a freer,
more continuous flow. This was not the simplest thing in the
world. On one hand was the press, impatient of reticence
and suspicious of concealments, and on the other hand were
generals and admirals reared in a school of iron silence. Both,
however, grew in understanding. The press finally realized
our honesty of purpose, and the militar}?' experts came to have
an increasing faith in the power of absolute frankness. The
Army and Navy, through this Division of News, pledged
themselves to give to the people instant and honest announce-
ment of all casualties, all accidents, all disasters. We did not
have to conceal reverses because we did not have to fear for
the courage of America.

All the official news of government, with direct relation to
the war, went to the people through the Division of News.
The Pershing communiques, the weekly press interviews with
Gen. March, Chief of Staff, and daily interviews with Secre-
tary of War Baker were other regular news features issued
in mimeographed form.

Preparation of the daily casualty lists for the newspapers
was one of the duties of the News Division. Originally these
lists were issued for immediate release, but as the totals
swelled to such a point that the task of carrying them on the
telegraph wires became too great an arrangement was made
at the request of the press associations by which the lists
were printed and mailed to newspapers with a five-day
release date. This system meant no delay in the notification
of relatives, who received word by telegraph from The
Adjutant General's Office several days in advance of publica-
tion in the newspapers.

During the latter part of its existence the News Division
took over the preparation of a nightly review of the news of
the world for transmission by wireless to the vessels of the
Navy in all waters, as well as to all transports in passage.

The division also acted as a reference bureau in connection
with the volimtary censorship, advising and interpreting the
Government's requests.

14 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC H^sTFORMATION.

The News Division also issued a weekly digest of war news
for country weeklies. Country dailies also asked to be put
on this list, which grew to more than 12,000. At any intima-
tion that this matter was not desired, the paper was removed
from the mailing list and by this and other checking we were
able to keep a more or less careful watch on the extent to
which the service was used. It ran as high as 6,000 columns
a week. Some 2,000 newspapers throughout the country
were served by wire association. An extremely conservative
estimate placed our average daily figure with these at one
column per newspaper per day, or 12,000 columns per week,
not including the mass of our stuff which was printed first-
hand in Sunday newspapers and worked into mosaics for
feature stories. Nor did this include the large number of
newspaper and magazine stories for which we supplied data
exclusively to a writer or correspondent who brought in the
idea of the story he wanted, nor the vast amount of time
spent in clearing the way for them to get first-hand such
information as they required. Reckoned solely on the basis
of mimeographed matter issued by the News Division, 20,000
columns per week was an extremely conservative estimate of
the use made of the service by the press of America.

A special and painstaking effort was made to present the
facts without the slightest trace of color or bias, either in
the selection of the facts to be made public or in the manner
in which they were presented. Thus the News Division set
forth in exactly the same colorless style the remarkable suc-
cess of the Browning guns on the one hand and on the other
the facts of bad health conditions in three or four of our
large camps.

ETery precaution was exercised also to guard against mis-
statements. Manuscript of articles prepared by employees of
the committee were invariably submitted for approval to the
department chief from which the information emanated.
In cases where a subordinate furnished the information one
of the heads of the department also approved it. No pos-
sible check as to accuracy was omitted. The effectiveness of
the system is proved by the fact that while over 6,000 releases
were issued in the year and a half of operation, only three
were ever questioned. As two of the attacks were without
honest foundation, the record of the News Division stands as

REPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIOlsT. 15

one mistake in 6,000 instances. No news organization in the
world equals, or even approaches, this record of painstaking
accuracy established by a war organization hastily assembled
and driven at all times under tremendous pressure.

Mr. J. W. McConaughy was director of the Division of
News until sent to Central America, at which time Mr. Leigh
Keilly took up the work, carrying it forward with the same
faith, devotion and brilliance.

From first to last, the division never closed doors, remain-
ing open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, a clearing house for
Government news, a service bureau to the press.

DIVISION OF CIVIC AND EDUCATIONAL COOPERATION.

A second imperative duty of the Committee on Public In-
formation was to put into convincing print America's reasons
for entering the war, the meaning of America, the nature of
our free institutions, and our war aims, together with a
thorough analysis of the Prussian system, as well as an ex-
posure of the enemy's misrepresentations, aggressions, and
barbarities. The Division of Civic and Educational Coopera-
tion was formed, and to its aid were called the best American
investigators, writers, economists, historians, and political
scientists, and in addition we enlisted the poAverful coopera-
tion of the National Historical Board.

Money could not have purchased the voluntary aid that was
given freely, the various universities lending their best men,
and individuals devoting weeks of their time to specific tasks
without remuneration. In logical sequence, the following
j)amphlets were prepared, printed, and distributed :

How the War Came to America 5, 428, 048

Swedish 67,487

' PoUsh 82,658

German 292,610

Italian 129,860

Spanish 96,816

Bohemian l. 121,058

Portuguese 9,375

National Service Handbook 454, 699

The Battle Line of Democracy 94, 848

President's Flag Day Address 6, 813, 340

Conquest and Kultur 1, 203, 607

German War Practices 1, 592, 801

The War Cyclopedia 195,231

16 KEPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC IKFORMATIOK.

German Treatment of Conquered Territory 720, 848

War, Labor, and Peace„„ : 584, 027

German Plots and Intrigues 127,153

The War Message 2,499,903

Nation in Arms 1,666,231

Government of Germany 1, 798, 155

German 20,500

Great War from Spectator to Participant 1 1,581,903

War of Self-Defense 721,944

American Loyalty—^ „ 702, 598

German „ „___„„___ 564,787

American Interest in Popular Government Abroad 596, 533

Home Reading Course for Citizen Soldiers 361, 000

First Session of War Congress 608, 950

German War Code 514, 452

American and Allied Ideals 228,986

German Militarism . „ 303, 600

German _„ 103,300

War for Peace „ 302,370

Why America Fights Germany 725, 345

Study of the Great War 678, 929

The Activities of the Committee on Public Information 23, 800

Friendly Words to the Foreign Born : 570, 543

The Prussian System . 571,036

Labor and the War 509,550

A War Message to the Farmer „ 546, 911

Plain Issues of the War 112, 492

Ways to Serve the Nation 568, 907

What Really Matters ^574, 502

The Kaiserite in America 5, 550, 521

War Publications Bulletin 13, 126, 006

Post Cards 1,687,408

Posters — Why Germany Wants Peace 31,000

Germany's Confession 324, 935

The German Whisper 437,484

National School Service 4,251,570

Lieber and Schurz 26,860

America's War Aims and Peace Terms _ 719, 315

Total 61, 626, 352

Publication for Foreign Section.

La Libertad Universal 102,967

Las Intenciones del Alemania , 95, 798

Lialtad a Estados Unidos 124,229

The German Bolshevild 137,375

La Guerra Intrepreation 125, 100

Las Reve^ationes del Principe Lichnowsky 46, 850

La Guerra del Trabajo 48,611

REPOET COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 17

Ein Aufruf Meiner Vaterland 60,500

R. W. & B. No. 10 (Spanish) 49, 750

Portuguese 15,000

America's War Aims (Spanish) 80,600

Mexican 17, 400

Total 904, 180

Publications for Friends of German Democracy {in German).

My London Mission ( Prince Lichnowsky ) 661, 300

The Meaning of America 10,421

The Democratic Rising of German people in '48 20, 320

On Loyalty, Liberty, and Democracy 19, 070

Friends of German Democracy 61,500

Democracy, the Heritage of All 30, 000

The Root of the Evil 30, 000

No Qualified Americanism 30, 100

German Militarism 1, 500

Total 864, 211

Puhlications for Division of American Alliance for Labor and
Democracy.

Why Workingmen Support 313, 535

Who is Paying for This War? 313, 082

German Socialists and the War 316, 005

To the Workers of Free America 323, 605

What Can Your Local Branch Do? — . 15, 000

Labor's Red, White, and Blue Book 99, 385

Total 1,380,612

Miscellaneous.

Posters—Capitol Building 26,100

Posters — Independence Hall 26, 100

Farmers' Bulletin 8, 000

Posters for War Cyclopedia 2,050

Purpose and Scope 25, 000

For Freedom (Serbian National Defense) 5,000

War Savings Campaign Appeals 6, 000

Posters — America Gave you All „ 7, 500

Map— The Pan-German Plan 122, 000

Buttons, American-Hungarian Loyalty League 25, 489

Newspaper, United States Department of Labor . 80, 000

Streamers, Four-Minute Men 25, 000

Division of Films Bulletin 121, 119

Selective Service Registration Bulletin 765, 700

The Advertising Bulletin 112, 000

1210S3— 20 2

18 REPORT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFOIlMATIOljT.

Circulars, Every Man Must Register 7, 163, 770

The American Navy 2, 100

Flying for America 2, 100

America at War 12, 000

Guarantee of Permanent Peace 26, 162

Under Four Flags (posters) „ 22,000

Window Display Suggestions 5, 600

Will American Socialists Do This (Yiddish) 32,000

Why Workingmen Support the War (Yiddish) 33, 000

No Compromise for America 15, 683

Ships, More Ships (poster) 15,000

Address of Secretary Lansing:

Spanish 34, 000

Portuguese 15, 000

Total 10, 350, 553

Grand total „ 75, 117, 178

Such was the excGllencc of the pamphlets that many of the
great metropolitan dailies printed them in their entirety as
supplements, Nor does the total take account of the hundreds
of thousands of copies of these pamphlets printed and dis-
tributed by private agencies and individuals at their own cost.
The figures also show domestic circulation conclusively,
although a great majority of the pamphlets were put into 14
foreign languages and given world-wide distribution.

It is a matter of pride to the Committee on Public Inf or-
mation, as it should be to America, that the directors of
English, French, and Italian propaganda were a unit in
agreeing that our literature was remarkable above all others
for its brilliant and concentrated effectiveness.

At no time was any haphazard method of distribution em-
ployed, for while a fixed mailing list was maintained 75 per
cent of the pamphlets were sent only upon request as a safe-
guard against waste. Among the organizations that assisted
in effective distribution were the Department of Agriculture,
the American Federation of Labor, the Department of State,
the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, the Young
Men's Christian Association, National War Council, the
American Library Association, the State defense councils,
Members of both Houses of Congress, and the political par-
ties. Besides the usual newspaper notices given when pam-
phlets were released the last two, " Conquest and Kultur "
and " German War Practices," as well as the " Flag Day
Speech " (with annotations), " How the War Came to Amer-

REPORT COMMITTEE 01^ PUBLIC INFORMATION. 19

ica," and the " War Message " (with annotations), were pub-
lished serially in many papers throughout tlie country.

A second great task of the division was to reach the schools,
the colleges, and universities with the message of America in
order that the youth of the land should be made to under-
stand the nature of the conflict in every detail. Kepresenta-
tives of the division went before teachers' institutes, summer
sessions, educational bodies, etc., and the great institutions
of learning w^ere joined in organized form for the study of
the Avar by teachers, pupils, and whole communities.

In direct response to a request from the Emergency Coun-
cil of Education and the Education Commission of the Na-
tional Education Association, the division commenced the
publication of the National School Service, a IB-page paper
issued twice a month to every one of the 520,000 teachers in
the United States. In many respects this publication was one
of the most remarkable features of the war, for it gave to the
schools the needs and messages of Government in concise
and usable form and to the Government a direct medium
for reaching the 20,000,000 homes represented in the schools.

The achievements of the division are due entirely to the
devotions and abilities of Prof. Guy Stanton Ford, dean of
the University of Minnesota, its director from fii'st to last.

DIVISION OF PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.

The production and distribution of the literature and other
printed matter issued by the committee started in June, 1917,
upon the publication of the " War Message and Facts Be-
hind It." The printing was all done by the Public Printer.
The distribution was handled through the circulation depart-
ment at No. 10 J ackson Place.

From June to November 1, 4,399,650 copies of nine pam-
phlets were printed and distributed. The Public Printer
could not keep up with the demand for pamphlets and the
distribution facilities were not adequate at ISTo. 10 Jackson
Place, so the Division of Production and Distribution was
organized, printing contracts were let in New York, and on
January 1, 1918, the first floor of the Printers Craft Build-
ing was leased as a distribution center.

A, complete stock of all the committee's publications was
kept to fill the constant demand from all parts of the coun-

20 REPORT COMMITTED. OInT PUBLIC USTFORMATION.

try. The requests came from, Congressmen and Senators,
ministers and school-teachers, labor leaders and war organiza-
tions, etc., who wished to spread the truth about the war
and America's position. The number of pamphlets sent on
each request was limited and a definite understanding that
the pamphlets be carefully distributed was made in each case.

A mailing list of the leaders of thought in the country was
compiled, to whom a copy of the pamphlets for general dis-
tribution were sent as soon as issued.

Special campaigns were planned to carry a particular
message over a wide distribution. Five million copies of the
President's Flag Day Address were delivered by hand by
the Boy Scouts of America to men and women who agreed
to read the pamphlets and then pass them on.

Five hundred and sixty thousand copies of the " Kaiserite
in America " were sent to traveling men in the United States
to combat German lies.

Other special campaigns were made in schools, camps, and
cantonments; Liberty loan workers and Four-Minute Men
and local leaders were urged to advise of special conditions
requiring attention in their districts, mailing lists of names
to whom literature should be sent. Over 30,000,000 pamphlets
were distributed by these methods to July 1, 1918.

As the work of the division grew and the efficiency of the
distribution facilities became apparent, the work of pro-
ducing and distributing all the printed matter issued by the
committee, except that done at the Government Printing
Office, was centered in the division.

In July the division undertook the campaign for the De-
partment of Labor to promote registration of men for em-
ployment. It furnished all the channels of distribution for
the literature of the campaign.

On extremely short notice the committee undertook the
advertising campaign for the Provost Marshal General prior
to the second draft. The greater part of the campaign was
based on the equipment of the Division of Production and
Distribution. As the time was so short only the most direct
methods could be employed.

It distributed 100,000 copies of a four-page newspaper to
all publication advertisers, advertising agents, and large
manufacturers, containing advertising copy for reprinting.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATIO]^. 21

The Selective Service Register was issued as a four-page
newspaper, serving a double purpose of a news sheet and
poster.

A small poster was distributed to every rural free-delivery
box in the country.

All churches received a copy of the Four Minute Men
registration bulletin. A total of over 8,000,000 pieces of
literature were sent out to specific addresses. The able
director of this division was Mr. Henry Atwater.

FOUR MINUTE MEN.

The Four Minute Men will live in history as the most

unique and one of the most effective agencies developed dur-
ing the war for the stimulation of public opinion and the pro-
motion of unity. The following letter, written by the Presi-
dent of the United States, may be cited as one of many de-
served tributes from the heads of Government :

The White House,
Washington, NovemMr 29, 1918.
To all the Four Minute Men of the Committee on Fuhlie Information:

I have read with real interest the report of your activities, and I
wish to express my sincere appreciation of the value to the Govern-
ment of your effective and inspiring efforts. It is a remarkable record
of patriotic accomplisliment that an organization of 75,000 speakers
should have carried on so extensive a work at a cost to the Govern-
ment of little more than $100,000 for the 18-month period — ^less than
$1 yearly on an individual basis. Each member of your organization,
in receiving honorable discharge from the service, may justly feel a
glow of proper pride in the part that he has played in holding fast the
inner lines. May I say that I, personally, have always taken the
deepest and most sympathetic interest in your work, and have noted,
from time to time, the excellent results you have procured for the
various departments of the Government. Now that this work has
come to its conclusion and the name of the Four Minute Men (which
I venture to hope will not be used henceforth by any similar organiza-
tion) has become a part of the history of the great war, I would not
willingly omit my heartfelt testimony to its great value to the country,
and indeed to civilization as a whole, during our period of national
trial and triumph. I shall always keep in memory the patriotic co-
operation and assistance accorded me throughout this period and shall
remain deeply and sincerely grateful to all who, like yourselves, have
aided so nobly in the achievement of our aims.
Cordinally and sincerely, yours,

WooDEOw Wilson,

22 RUPORT COMMITTEE O'N PUBLIC USTPORMATIOH.

From first to last, fully 75,000 speakers were used. The
number of speeches made were 755,190 and a fair estimate of
audiences makes it certain that a total of 314,454,514 people
were addressed.

The idea of the Four Minute Men was originated by Mr.
Donald Ryerson, of Chicago, who made the first Four Minute
speech in a Chicago theater. Two days after the formation
of the Committee on Public Information, Mr. E-yerson came
to Mr. Creel, in Washington, who saw instantly the possi-
bilities of the plan and straightway proceeded to put it upon
a national basis under Government supervision. Under the
original arrangement this statement of policy was issued :

The Four Minute Men is a specialized publicity service giving
four-minute talks by local volunteers, introduced by a standard in-
troduction slide furnished by the Government, in the intermission at
motion-picture theaters in accordance with a single standard plan
throughout the country.

At this time the following form of slide was adopted :

0 MINUTE MEN © .
(Copyright, 1917. Trade-mark.)

(Insert name of speaker.)

will speak four minutes on a subject
of national importance. He speaks
under the authority of

The Committee on Public
Information.

Geokge Creel, Chairman,
Washington, D. G.

This same bulletin went on to define that all topics are
of national importance connected with the war plans of the
Government and are assigned by the department at Wash-
ington. Each campaign is of a stated length and is inaugu-
rated by the delivery to the chairmen (1) of campaign in-
structions to themselves and (2) of a brief with a typical
four-minute talk approved and released by the Committee
on Public Information to be distributed to the speakers.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIOl^T. 23

The talks are prepared by the individual speaker on the basis of
the policy, points of emphasis, lines of argument, and general in-
formation contained in this bulletin on each subject. The aim is to
preserve individuality and forcefulness of expression and yet con-
fine the message absolutely to the four-minute limit and within the
policy limits of the bulletin in order that the character of the original
message formulated in Washington may not be lost in transmission
through the speaker.

The speakers in every case received their authority and
appointment from the chairmen of the local branches of the
organization, who, in turn, were appointed through the
State chairman or direct from headquarters at Washington.
Each local chairman was registered at once in Washington.

The original method ^of organizing a local branch was as
follows: The written indorsement of three prominent citi-
zens — bankers, professional, or business men — written on
their own stationery in a prescribed official form was re-
quired for the nomination of a local chairman. These in-
dorsements were forwarded to headquarters in Washington,
together with the proper form of application for authority
to form a local branch with the privilege of representing the
Government, in which application the number of speakers
available was stated, in order that material might be for-
warded promptly in case the application was approved.

Early in June, 1917, Mr. Ryerson, who had previously re-
ceived a commission in the United States Navy and had se-
cured two months' furlough in order to establish the organi-
zation, resigned from the Four Minute Men in order to enter
fcho training school at Annapolis.

William McCormick Blair, of Chicago, became national
director on June 16, and the work of organizing progressed
swiftly. Mr. Blair appointed State chairmen immediately
in a number of States, while the rest of the country was
organized through the State councils of defense by writing
directly to the governors of the various States, outlining the
plan of organization and urging them to nominate State
directors and to incorporate it in the work of their respective
State councils.

The National Advisory Council was formed about this
time, Mr. William H. IngersoU, of New York, becoming the

24 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATION.

first member. Prof. S. H. Clark and Samuel Hopkins Adams
subsequently became members of the council, which in the
fall of 1918 was greatly increased in membership.

The following is a complete list of bulletins issued from
the original inception of the organization to the date of its
official demobilization on December 24, 1918 :

Fowr Minute Men Bulletins, 1917-18.

Bulletin
No.

Period.

Universal Service by Selective Draft .

First Liberty Loan

Red Cross

Organization

Food Conservation

Why We Are Fighting

The Nation in Arms

The Importance of Speed

What Our Enemy Really Is

Unmasking German Propaganda

Onward to Victory

Second Liberty Loan

Food Pledge

Maintaining Morals and Morale

Carrying the Message

War Savings Stamps

The Shipbuilder

Eyes for the Navy

The Danger to Democracy

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

The Income Tax ,

Farm and Garden

President Wilson's Letter to Theaters

Third Liberty Loan

Organization ,

Second Red Cross Campaign

Danger to America

Second War Savings Campaign

The Meaning of America

Mobilizing America's Man Power

Where Did You Get Your Facts?

Certificates to Theater Members

Four Minute Singing

Fourth Liberty Loan

Food Program for 1919

Fire Prevention

United War Work Campaign

Red Cross Home Service

What Have We Won?

Red Cross Christmas Roll Call

A Tribute to the Allies

May 12-21, 1917.
May 22-June 15, 1917.
June 18-25, 1917.

July 1-14, 1917.

July 23-Aug. 5, 1917.

Aug. 6-26, 1917.

Aug. 19-26, 1917.

Aug. 27-Sept. 23, 1917.

Aug. 27-Sept, 23, 1917 (supplementary

topic).
Sept. 24-Oct. 27, 1917.
Oct. 8-28, 1917.
Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 1917.
Nov. 12-25, 1917.
Nov. 26-Dec. 22, 1917.
Jan. 2-19, 1918.
Jan. 28-Feb. 9, 1918.
Feb. 11-16, 1918.
Feb. 18-Mar. 10, 1918.
Feb. 12, 1918.
Mar. 11-16, 1918.
Mar. 25-30, 1918.
Mar. 31-Apr. 5, 1918.
Apr. 6-May 4, 1918.
(Republished Apr. 23, 1918.)
May 13-25, 1918.
May 27-June 12, 1918.
June 24-28, 1918.
June 29-July 27, 1918.
July 29-Aug. 17, 1918.
Aug. 26-Sept. 7, 1918.
Sept. 9-14, 1918.
Sept. 5-12, 1918.
For general use.
Sept. 28-Oct. 19, 1918.
Changed to Dec. 1-7; finally canceled.
Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 1918.
Nov. 3-18, 1918.
Dec. 7, 1918.
Dec. 8-14, 1918.
Dec. 15-23, 1918.
Dec. 24, 1918.

These bulletins were issued to the field workers and to asso-
ciated individuals and official organizations in the following
quantities :

REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 25
statement of literature issued to the field.

state.

Sept.
15,
1917.

Alabama

Alaska:

Chairmen

Lodges

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Canal Zone

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia..

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois ,

Indiana

Iowa ,

Kansas

Kentucky ,

Louisiana...*

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri ,

Montana

Nebraska ,

New Hampshire ,

New Jersey ,

370
560
300

305
425
165
100
370
5

275
620
685
540

340
100
200
100

875
550
355
120
400
90
50
120
580

Mar.
31,
1918.

675
540

420
950
1,815
50
870
650
165
125
560
500
60
455
2,335
1,890
2,275
1,945
645
225
1,280
260
1,135
1,250
2,120
1,275
2,880
765
2,875
325
1,395

Nov.

1,
1918.

2,806

447
68

519
1,241
2,630
50

927
1,252

175

125
2,155

677
50

689
7,668
1,936
3, 140
3,093
1,376

733
1,221

898
1,225
1,879
2,027
3,280
4,203
1,163
2,622

400
2,197

State.

Nevada

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Porto Rico

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Colleges

San Francisco speakers

Current list |

New Hampshiregrange
Maryland grange. .
Vermont speakers .
Connecticut grange
Vermont grange . . .

Sept.
15,
1917.

145
75
1,180
525
465
890
25
160
50

380
450
100
835
50
100

180
235
775
455

Total.

Mar.
31,
1918.

225
255

4,280
725

1,450

2, 170

1,375
760

6,530
15
270
540
470
405

1,245
50
490
225

1,384
780

1,610
436

Nov.

1,
1918.

262
410
5,784
1,151
1,875
3,007
1,424
815
9,057
500
179
529
844
1,474
1,600
276
482
2,100
2,125
1,426
1,956
186
4,536
57
568
780
172
184
312
398

97, 340

Approximate number of bulletins required on Nov. 23, 1918, 101,000.

ARMY BULLETINS.

At the request of the War Department bulletins similar to
those published for the use of Four Minute Men were pro-
duced by national headquarters to fee used by company com-
manders in many cantonments throughout the country in pre-
paring short talks to their men on the causes and issues of the
war.

The following campaigns of the kind were conducted to the
complete satisfaction of the War Department as expressed in
its official report on the subject :

1. Why We Are Fighting. January 2, 1918.

2. Insurance for Soldiers and Sailors. February 1, 1918.

3. Back of the Trenches. April 6, 1918.

Early in August the scope of the work was extended to
reach other audiences besides those in motion-picture
theaters. A church department of the Four Minute Men
was organized in many of the local branches to present four-

26 EEPORT COMMITTEE OJST PUBLIC INFOKMATIOlf .

minute speeches in churches, synagogues, and Sunday
schools. The first church department was organized in
New York City.

OTHER MEETINGS.

National arrangements had already been made to have
speakers appear at the meetings of lodges, fraternal organi-
zations, and labor unions and this work progressed swiftly.
In most cases these speakers were selected from the member-
ship of the organizations to whom they spoke.

Under the authority of State lecturers of granges, four-
minute messages based upon the official bulletins were given
also at all meetings of the granges in many States.

The work was next extended to reach the lumber camps
of the country, some 500 organizations being formed in
such communities. The work was also extended to cover
Indian reservations,

women's divisions.

About this time some of the States, acting under authority
from headquarters, organized women's divisions to bring
the messages of the Government to audiences at matinee per-
formances in the motion-picture theaters, and to the mem-
bers of women's clubs, and other similar organizations.

JUNIOR FOUR MINUTE MEN.

The Junior Four Minute Men movement commenced with
a Junior War-Savings Stamps bulletin published for the
State of Minnesota. Results were such that in March, 1918,
a Junior War-Savings Stamps campaign was held for the
rest of the country. Over a million and a half copies of
the bulletin published for this campaign were sent out
through the various State war-savings stamps committees,
which distributed them to the schools.

The general plan was for the teacher to explain the sub-
ject, using the bulletin as a textbook, and the children then
wrote their speeches and submitted them to the teacher or
principal. The best were selected and delivered as speeches
or were read. In a few cases extemporaneous talks were
given.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC mFORMATION". 27

There were many different ways of conducting these con-
tests. Sometimes they were considered as a regular part of
the school work and were held in the classroom with no
outsiders present, but more often they were made special
events, the entire school, together with parents and other
visitors, being present.

Both boys and girls were eligible and the winners were
given an official certificate from the Government, commission-
ing them as Four Minute speakers upon the specified topic
of the contest.

Following the war savings stamps contest came the third
Libert}^ loan contest of April 6 to May 4, 1917. A million
copies of this bulletin were published and were sent directly
to the schools from the stencils of the United States Bureau
of Education in Washington. About 200,000 schools in all
parts of the country were reached in this way. The same plan
of distribution was used for the junior fourth Liberty loan
contest and for the junior Eed Cross Christmas roll call,
and these two bulletins were published in connection with
the School Service Bulletin which was then going out from
the committee twice monthly to all schools on this list.

THEATER MEMBERS.

On September 9 a special bulletin (Ko. 36) was published,
governing the presentation of certificates to the proper repre-
sentatives of the motion-picture theaters in recognition of
the patriotic service of granting to the Four Minute Men the
exchisive privilege of speaking to their audiences, creating
them theater members of the organization.

FOUR-MINUTE SINGING.

Prior to Mr. Blair's leaving, another innovation had been
inaugurated in the decision to add four-minute singing to the
work of the division. A bulletin (No. 38) of specially pre-
pared songs was published on September 10 for general use,
and instructions were issued to the chairmen to appoint song
leaders to encourage the audiences of the motion-picture
theaters in community singing.

28 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

COLLEGE FOUR MINUTE MEN.

In September also college Four Minute Men were organ-
ized, under instructors acting as chairmen, to study the regu-
lar Four Minute Men bulletins and practice speaking upon
the subjects thereof, each student being required to deliver at
least one four-minute speech to the student body during the
semester in addition to securing satisfactory credits, in order
to qualify as a Four Minute Man. This work was organized
in 153 colleges.

JUNIOR BULLETINS.

A further development of the original field was the intro-
duction of four-minute speaking contests in schools to decide
which of the pupils were worthy to become Junior Four
Minute Men on specific topics presented in bulletins similar
to those used by the senior speakers.

This work was conducted on a national scale and was par-
ticipated in by many millions of American school children
in. connection with each of the following four campaigns:

JUNIOR FOUR MINUTE MEN CONTESTS.

1. War Savings Contest. March 11, 1918.

2. Third Liberty Loan Contest. April 6-May 4, 1918.

3. Fourth Liberty Loan Contest. September 28-October
19, 1918.

4. Red Cross Christmas EoU Call. December 2-20, 1918.

NEW^S BULLETINS.

To keep the thousands of separate organizations in touch
with each other and with developments of the actual appli-
cation of the work, six I^ews Bulletins were published at in-
tervals of about three months.

PUBLICITY.

In addition to the messages brought to the people by means
of the spoken word, the Four Minute Men secured for the
Government pul licrily wor'lh at lea>st Ihree-qunrters of a
million dollars.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC IlSTFORMATIOl?". 29

Articles containing the pith of each bulletin were sent
out from headquarters and released through local chair-
men and publicity managers in thousands of communities
for use in the local papers.

The average number of press clippings received at head-
quarters from a single clipping bureau, covering only the
larger newspapers of the country, was 873 a month, or more
than 15,000 during the 18-month life of the organization.

These clippings averaged certainly not less than 60 lines
each, totaling 900,000 lines, which at a low rate for this
type of publicity, if purchased, would have cost $225,000.

Hundreds of newspapers mailed to headquarters from the
smaller towns indicate that much larger space was con-
sistently devoted to the Government messages in these places,
while during the ban on public meetings due to the influenza
epidemic newspapers in all parts of the country devoted
sufficient space to carry daily four-minute messages prepared
for them by members of the organization.

It is extremely conservative to estimate the total value
of all thi^ publicity at $750,000.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

Exact reports, covering approximately one-half of the
full activities of the organization, give a total of 505,190
speeches made to audiences totaling 202,454,514 people.
This total does not cover the six campaigns from October 27,
1918, to the closing date of December 24, nor does it include
the first campaigns from May 22 to October 27, 1917. At a
very reasonable estimate, these first campaigns added 40,-
000,000 to the total audience reached and not IcvSs than 70,000
to the number of speeches delivered, while the final six cam-
paigns added certainly not less than 72,000,000 to the total
audience and 180,000 to the number of speeches. Adding
these conservative estimates to the above incomplete reports,
the following results are shown :

Number of speeches given 755, 190

Total audience 314,454,514

A very reasonable allowance for the considerable number
of communities from which incomplete or no reports were
received justifies an estimate of final totals of a million

30 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATIOiT.

speeches heard by four hundred million individuals during
the 18-month life of the organization — an average of about
28,000 speeches, reaching more than 11,000,000 people, during
each of the 36 distinct campaigns covered by the 46 bulletins.

COSTS.

OFFICIAL EXPENDITTTEES.

The amounts expended from presidential and congressional
appropriations on behalf of the Four Minute Men from the
commencement of the work in 1917 to the date of disbanding
in December, 1918, were as follows :

July, 1917-
June, 1918.

July-Dec,
1918.

Totals,

Salaries :

$24,033.04
29, 107.06
7,300.68
4,942.09
5, 856.90

§18,711.96
7,344.82

$42, 745.00
36,451.88
7, 300. 68
5, 942. 09
9,115.45

Printing

Slides

Traveling

1,000.00
3,258.55

General :

Total

71,239.77

30, 315. 33

101, 555. 10

(July to December, 1918, figures partly estimated, as business division is unable to give
figures after September 30, 1918. Old fiscal year figures subject to change, as bills are still
coming in.)

CONTEIBUTED EXPENDITURES.

In addition to the foregoing, large sums have been ex-
pended from July, 1917, to December, 1918, from private
sources and public subscriptions in the maintenance of the
offices of State directors and local chairmen, and by the
individual speakers in their travels to and from places of
speaking and in their incidental expenses. These expenses
have been recorded exactly wherever possible, and in other
cases have been estimated very carefully from accurate data.

Actual expenses of State director's offices $177, 090

Expenses of local chairmen's offices; estimated at $10

monthly for the known average number of chairmen

(4,422 averaged over the enth'e 18-month period) 795,960

Expenses of individual speakers, averaging 10 speakers to
the chairman and allowing for each speaker $2 monthly
for all traveling and incidental expenses 1, 591, 920

Total of contributed expenses 2, 564, 970

Thus the estimated amounts expended from voluntary con-
tributions were more than 25 times the expenditures from the
official appropriations.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

SUMMARY.

It is impossible to set an adequate monetary valuation upon
services contributed so graciously and so patriotically as
were those of all the Four Minute Men, the motion-picture
theaters, newspapers, churches, granges, lodges, labor unions,
and other agencies which have furthered this work. The f ol-
lowing- attempt is made merely with a view to visualizing in
some concrete and tangible form the material value of this
work in relation to the actual cost thereof to the Government.

It would not be reasonable to set a lower valuation than $4
on the delivery of a four-minute speech, requiring the most
painstaking and exact preparation and unusual skill in con-
densation and forcefulness of delivery. Indeed, this sum is
ridiculously small, but because of its numerical appropriate-
ness let it be taken as a basis of valuation, in addition, of
course, to the actual expenses of the speakers.

Not with any suggestion of undervaluing the inestimable
cooperation of the theaters and other places in which speeches
were delivered, but rather, with a view to the most thorough
conservatism, we will estimate a " rental value " for the deliv-
ery of each speech at one-half the speakers' rate.

The expenses of the various offices and individuals on the
number of speeches, and also on the value of publicity gener-
ously contributed by the press, have been recorded above.
A summary of all these items gives the following estimated

valuation :

Official expenditures (headquarters) $101,555.10

Contributed expenditures 2, 564, 970. 00

One milUon speeches at $4 each 4, 000, 000. 00

" Rent " of theaters, etc., to deliver above 2, 000, 000. 00

Speeches (331) of traveling speakers 8,275.00

Publicity contributed by press 750, 000. 00

Grand total 9, 424, 800. 10

Thus it ap pears that the investment of a sum of little more
than $100,000 in this war-emergency agency has procured for
the Government services and patriotic contributions to a con-
servatively estimated total of nearly 95 times as much.

In the fall of 1918 Mr. Blair entered an officers' training
camp, and his place was taken by Mr. William H. IngersoU,
a member of the Advisory Council since 1917.

32 BEPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC IISTEORMATIOK.
THE SPEAKING DIVISION.

The Speaking Division owed its establishment to the need
for some organization to act as a clearing house for national
speaking campaigns. By the beginning of September, 1917.
more than a dozen national speakers' bureaus were being con-
ducted by Government departments and by associations which
were seeking to promote the national interest. Scores of
State speaking campaigns were being inaugurated under the
auspices of councils of defense and other organizations. All
these were competing for speakers, in danger of duplicating
each others' activities, and failing to coordinate their efforts
in an effective and comprehensive campaign. There was a
need of some central clearing house in Washington through
which these various organizations, working for a great com-
mon purpose, but each with its special message, could be
brought into touch with the affairs and facilities of other
departments, and given the inspiration and information
which came from the vital national interests involved.

In consideration of these needs, the Speaking Division of
the Committee on Public Information was brought into be-
ing on September 25, 1917, through the approval of the
President, given in the following letter :

My Deae Mr. Creel :

I heartUy approve of the suggestion you have made that through
your committee some effort be made to coordinate the work of the
various bureaus, departments, and agencies interested in presenting
from the platform various phases of the national task. With the
cooperation of the departments, the Food Administration, the Council
of National Defense, and the Committee on Public Information, it
would seem possible to enlist the many State and private organizations
who have put the Nation's cause above every other issue and stand
ready to participate in a speaking campaign that shall give to the
people that fullness of information which will enable and inspire each
citizen to play intelligently his part in the greatest and most vital
struggle ever undertaken by self-governing nations.

Your suggestion of Mr. Arthur E. Bestor, president of Chautauqua
Institution, to direct this work is excellent. You are fortunate to
be able to enlist one who has been so intimately connected with a
great American educational institution devoted to popular instruction
without prejudice or partisanship.

Cordially and sincerely yours,

WooDROw Wilson.

BEPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOEMATION. 33

Certain general policies were followed from the very be-
ginning with such modifications as from jbime to time became
necessary. It was not the purpose of the division to attempt
to combine the speakers' bureaus of the several departments
or private organizations, nor to assume any responsibility
for supervision over them, but rather to establish a bureau
to coordinate their efforts where they related to common
aims or activities. It was the purpose to seek cooperation
among these speakers' bureaus by agreement and consulta-
tion; to offer a national clearing house for speaking cam-
paigns; to avoid duplication of effort and overlapping of
territory; and to supply speakers with usable information
from Government departments; to concentrate the attention
of speakers during special periods upon different national
needs; and to foster in all speakers a sense of the unity of
the national purpose. There was never an attempt to con-
trol and supervise the speaking of the country — the problem
was one of cooperation and coordination.

A card catalogue of over 10,000 speakers and makers of
public opinion was eventually gathered and a select list of
300 effective speakers. Whenever a request was made for an
individual address a list was prepared of those available for
such service. This resulted in many appointments being
made by organizations direct with speakers recommended by
the division.

While aid was given to every organization that requested
it, direct relationship was constantly kept up with the follow-
ing organizations: Treasury Department (for the three Lib-
erty loans). Department of Labor, Council of National De-
fense, United States Food Administration. American Red
Cross, Friends of German Democracy, American Alliance for
Labor and Democracy, National Committee on the Churches
and the Moral Aims of the War. Relations were established
with many national organizations which had organized audi-
ences, such as the United States Chamber of Commerce, Inter-
national Association of Rotary Clubs, Advertising Clubs of
the World, Open Forum National Council, League to Enforce
Peace, and various bureaus conducting circuit chautauquas.
The International Lyceum Association held a very successful
Conference for American Lecturers in Washington whose

121033—20 3

34 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

program was largely a;rranged through Mr. Creel's personal
approach to officials of our own and to allied Governments.

The division kept in touch with all these organizations
through bimonthly bulletins, conferences, and correspondence,
and was thus able at all times to have knowledge of the
patriotic campaigns which were being carried on in the
country.

In Januar}^, 1918, a service of speakers bulletins was in-
augurated, which supplied approximately 15,000 makers of
public opinion wdth various governmental publications. In
order not to duplicate the work so admirably done by the
Four Minute Men, it was decided after the third issue to
utilize the bulletins of the Four Minute Men and other gov-
ernmental agencies. The following bulletins were issued
together with various publications of the committee :

No. 1. " Purpose and Scope of the Work of the Speaking Division."
No. 2. " Hints for Speakers — The Issues of the War at a Glance," ac-
companied by publications of the Committee on Public In-
formation as follows :

How the War Came to America.
The War Message and the Facts Beliind it.
The Nation in Arms.
The Government of Germanj^
The Great War : from Spectator to Participant.
No. 3. " Ships, Ships, and yet More Ships — The Nation's Greatest
Need," accompanied by the War Encyclopedia issued by the
Committee on Public Information. This bulletin was issued
in cooperation with the United States Shipping Board.
No. 4. Letter transmitting Four Minute Bulletin No. 24 "The Danger to
Democracy " and the pamphlet " Conquest and Kultur "
issued by the Committee on Public Information.
No. 5. Letter transmitting the Four Minute Bulletin on the Third
Liberty Loan issued in cooperation with the Treasury
Department.

In cooperation with the States Eelations Division of the
Council of National Defense speaking organizations were cre-
ated under the State councils of defense in all of the States
except New York and Delaware. Upon recommendation of
the division, in connection with many State speakers' bureaus,
there was organized a committee in which the following in-
terests were represented:

State Council of Defense.

State Division of the Woman's Committee.

REPOBT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFORMATION. 35

Extension Division, Department of Agriculture.
State Department of Education.
Extension Division of the State University.
State Department of Labor.
State Community Organizer.
Chairman Four Minute Men.
Federal Food Administrator.
Federal Fuel Administrator.

Patriotic Societies v^^hich have carried on effective speaking cam-
paigns or have ready-made audiences.

It was possible therefore to route national speakers on
short notice and put them into communities and before
audiences where they could be most effective. This decen-
tralization of the work meant that responsibility was put
upon the State officials who knew intimately of local needs
and who had in Washington an organization in touch with
all speaking campaigns.

District conferences to plan war conferences and more
effective organization were held by officers of the Speaking
Division and the States Relations Division with representa-
tives of the State councils of defense as follows : Washing-
ton, November' 10, 1917, for Pennsylvania and the South
Atlantic States: Chicago, November 17, 1917, for the Middle
Western States; Birmingham, February 15, 1918, for the
Southern States; and Boston, April 1, 1918, for New Jersey
and the New England States.

In cooperation with the States Relations Division of the
Council of National Defense and under the direct auspices
of the State councils of defense, there were held 45 War
Conferences in 37 States, and in addition, local conferences
were held in four cities in Arizona and five cities in Utah.
These War Conferences brought together all the effective
war workers in the State, usually occupied two days, and in
addition to the general meetings addressed by the speakers
sent out by the division, there were sectional conferences
held by Federal and State officials who were carrying on
war work. These War Conferences were oftentimes the
greatest gatherings held within the States during the v^ ar.
They had a profound effect upon public opinion and upon
the efficient organization of State war work. Usually the
State-wide conferences were followed by county and town
conferences of the same character. A list of the War Con-

36 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PtJBLIC INFORM ATIOIS".

ferences, with the speakers furnished by the division, is as
follows :

December 5-6, Richmond, Va. :

Secretary Newton D. Baker, Hon. Henry J. Allen, George F.
Porter, and Arthur E. Bestor.
December 6-7, Columbia, S. O. :

Hon. Henry J. Allen and Dr. J. A. B. Scherer.
December 13-14, Indianapolis, Ind. :

Vice President Marshall, George Creel, Medill McCormick,
Lieut. Paul Perigord, and Arthur B. Bestor.
December 14-15, Des Moines, Iowa.
December 17-18, Philadelphia, Pa. :

Secretary William G. McAdoo, Lieut. Paul Perigord, and Ar-
thur E. Bestor.
December 20, Little Rock, Ark.

January 14-15, Chicago, 111. ; 15-16, Louisville, Ky. ; 16-17, Columbia,
Mo. ; 17-18, Topeka, Kans. ; 18-19, Lincoln, Nebr. :

Sir Frederick E. Smith, Solicitor General John W. Davis, Dr.
George E. Vincent, and Arthur E. Bestor.
February 20, Lansing, Mich. ; 2*2', Sioux Falls, S. Dak. :

Hon. Crawford Yaughan and Prof. Thomas F. Moran.
February 24, St. Paul, Minn. :

Hon. Joseph C. Grew and Prof. Thomas F. Moran.
February 25, Bismarck, N. Dak, :

Hon. Joseph C. Grew, Prof. Thomas F. Moran, and Charles
Edward Russell.
February 26, iVberdeen, S. Dak. :

Hon. Joseph C. Grew and Prof. Thomas F. Moran.
March 11, Oklahoma City, Okla. ; 12, Dallas, Tex. ; 13, Houston, Tex. ;
14, Shrevc^port, La.; 15, Jackson, Miss.; 16, New Orleans, La. ; 18,
Birmingham, Ala.; 19, Atlanta, Ga. ; 21, Tampa, Fla. ; 22, Jackson-
ville, Fla. ; 23, Columbia, S. C. :

Secretary David F. Houston, Lieut. Paul Perigord, and Prof.
Thomas F. Moran.
May 7-8, Denver, Colo. ; 9-10, Albuquerque, N. Mex. ; 10-11, El Paso,
Tex. ; 11, Phoenix, Ariz. ; 13-14, Los Angeles, Calif. ; 14-15, San
Francisco, Calif.; 16-17, Reno, Nev. ; 17-18, Salt Lake City, Utah;
20-21, Boise, Idaho ; 22-23, Portland, Oreg. ; 24-25, Seattle, Wash. ;
27-28, Spokane, Wash. ; 28-29, Helena, Mont. :

Lieut. Paul Perigord, Prof. Guy Stanton Ford, and George B.
Chandler.
May 7, Trenton, N. J. :

Maj. Laughlin McLean Watt, Maj. Rutledge Smith, Senator J.
Hamilton Lewis, and Arthur E. Bestor.
May 8, Portland, Me. ; 9, Concord, N. H. ; 10, Montpelier, Vt. ; 11,
Hartford, Conn. :

Hon. Frederick D. Walcott, Maj. Laughlin McLean Watt, Maj.
Rutledge Smith, and Arthur E. Bestor.

EEPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION, 37

The most extensive work of the division was the handling
of national speakers and routing through the country repre-
sentatives of our own Government and of our Allies. No sal-
aries were paid any speakers and no payment made for indi-
vidual addresses except traveling expenses, Avhich were some-
times borne by the division and oftentimes by the State or
local organization for whom they spoke. The most distin-
guished speakers in America were among those who gave
their services on this basis. The division worked in close co-
operation with the British War Mission, the French High
Commission, the Italian Embassy, the Belgian Legation, as
Avell as Avith the various departments of the United States
Government.

Among officials of our own Government for whom appoint-
ments were made were Vice President Marshall ; Secretaries
Baker, Lane, McAdoo, Houston, and Redfield ; Solicitor Gen-
eral John W. Davis ; Senators Kenyon and Nelson ; Congress-
man Albert Sidney Johnson ; Col. Clarence Ousley and Carl
Vrooman, Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture ; Hon. Joseph
E. Grew ; Hon. Gaillard Hunt and Hon. Wesley Frost, of the
Department of State ; Hon. F. C. Walcott ; Dr. Vernon Kel-
logg ; Maj. W. L. Brown, Dr. Henry J. Waters, and Dr. Henry
C. Culbertson, of the Food Administration; and Dr. Anna
Shaw and Miss Ida TarbelL of the Woman's Committee of
the Council of National Defense.

In cooperation with the British War Mission, engagements
were made for Sir Frederick E. Smith, the British Attorney
General; Sir Walter Lawrence, Sir George Adam Smith,
Gen. H, D. Swinton, Col. A. C. Murray, Maj. Ian Hay Beith,
Lieut. Hector MacQuarrie, Hon. Harald Smith, Maj. Eobert
Massie, and Maj. Laughlin McLean Watt.

The French High Commission placed at the disposal of the
division Lieut. Paul Perigord for seven months' service, and
appointments were also made for M. de Billy, M. Maurice
Casenave, and Lieut. Wierzbicke.

Speaking engagements were also ar^'^^ged for Lieut. Bruno
Roselli, of the Italian Embassy.

In cooperation w^tlt the Friends of German Democracy,
Mr. Henry Riesenburg made 27 addresses in 19 States ; Dr.
Frank Bohxi, 9 addresses in 3 States ; Dr. William H. Bohn,

38 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INPORMATION.

26 addresses in 3 States ; Dr. Karl Mathie, 18 addresses in 2
States; and Prof. A. E. Koenig, 9 addresses.

The American Alliance for Labor and Democracy were fur-
nished many speakers, but most the engagements were made
direct.

Lieut. Paul Perigord, loaned *to the division for seven
months by the French High Commission, made 152 addresses
under the auspices of the division in all parts of the country.
Probably no speaker heard in America aroused more en-
thusiasm.

Lieut. Hector MacQuarrie, through the cooperation of the
British War Mission, gave 93 addresses in four months in 9
States, and everywhere was a most effective speaker for the
allied cause.

Hon. Crawford Vaughan, ex-premier of South Australia,
a noted labor leader, was brought across the continent by the
division, spoke at several of the War Conferences, and gave
in all 22 addresses under the auspices of the division until he
became connected with the United States Shipping Board.

Capt.Eaould Amundsen, who had had unusual opportunities
to observe the American troops at the front, made a tour in
March and April, speaking 13 times in 6 States with par-
ticular success before Scandinavian audiences.

Hon. Wesley Frost, former consul at Queenstown, and the
official reporter of 81 submarine sinkings, created profound
sensation in his transcontinental tours, and from September
to February gave 63 addresses in 29 States for the Speaking
Division.

Charles Edward Russell, a member of the President's
Commission to Eussia, who was particularly effective before
labor audiences, gave 58 addresses from October to February
in all parts of the country.

Congressman Albert Johnson, just back from the front,
delivered 19 addresses in 9 States from December to Feb-
ruary.

In conjunction w?h,the Four Minute Men, Prof. S. H.
Clark delivered 19 addressees in 4 of the Western States
in March and April. ^ . w

Among others for whom the division made speaking en-
gagements are the following: Prof. Guy Stanton Ford, Dr.
Mitchell Carroll, George B. Chandler, Maj. Eutledge Smith,

REPORT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFORMATION. 39

Mary Antin, Dr. George E. Vincent, Prof. J. S. P. Tatlock,
Dr. Hugh Birckhead, Eichard D. Hollington, Justice S.
Harrison White, Dr. T. Alexander Cairns, Dr. James Sulli-
van, Judge A. D. Dabney, Capt. J. M. de Beaufort, William
Forkell, Prof. Bertram Nelson, Dr. E. Y. Mullins, Judge
Clarence W. Goodwin, Sergt. Bernard S. Wolff, Felix M.
Warburg, Dr. D. F. Garland, Dr. George E. Raiguel, William
B. Guthrie, Bishop William F. McDowell, James Hugh
Keeley, Col. Thomason, Miss Jane Addams, Dr. J. A. B.
Scherer.

Inasmuch as the division had relations with State councils
of defense in practically all the States and with various
organizations like the chambers of commerce, rotary clubs,
and others that had ready-made audiences, the division came
more and more to be the organization to handle tours for
patriotic purposes which were other than merely, speaking
tours. The French Blue Devils w^ere routed under the aus-
pices of the division and the 344 Belgian soldiers returning
from Russia were brought across the continent by the divi-
sion. The 50 American soldiers sent by Gen. Pershing to
aid in the third Liberty loan were, at the conclusion of that
loan, routed by the division for one month and heard in
practically all of the States.

An extensive trip through the South was arrang^ed for the
Marquis and Marquise de Courtivron and the Marquis and
Marquise de Polignac, accompanied by Mr. Charles Edward
Hussell.

Mr. Arthur E. Bestor, president of Chautauqua Institu-
tion, and from May until September, 1917, chairman of the
committee of lecturers and entertainments in training camps
for the Young Men's Christian Association War Council,
was Director of the Speaking Division from its organiza-
tion, September 25, 1917, until its consolidation with the
Four Minute Division, September 1, 1918. From Septem-
ber until May he delivered 53 addresses under the auspices
of the division.

Mr. J. J. Petti john, director of the extension division of
Indiana University and head of the Indiana State Speakers'
Bureau, became associate director of the division on May
6, 1918, and from June was in active charge in the absence
of Mr. Bestor, until the consolidation of the division with

40 REPOBT COMMITTEE OIsT PUBLIC INFORMATIOlvr.

the Four Minute Men, when he become the associate director
of that division. His wide experience in popular education
and his ability as an organizer were of great value to the
division in the last months of its separate organization.

Prof. Thomas F. Moran, of Purdue University, was loaned
to the division by that institution for service from January
to April. His ability as a writer and speaker was used to
great advantage in the editing of the bulletins and in ad-
dresses before the Southern War Conferences and individual
addresses before many audiences, 34 in all.

Mr. W. Frank McClure, publicity director of the Redpath
Bureau, Chicago, was loaned by that organization to the
division for the month of November. He performed a very
useful service in organizing the publicity machinery for the
committee.

DIVISION OF PICTORIAL PUBLICITY.

One of the first realizations of the Committee on Public
Information was the importance of pictorial publicity in
building morale, arousing the spiritual forces of the Nation,
and stimulating the war will of the people. It was not only
that America needed posters, but it needed the hest posters
ever drmon. To this end the Division of Pictorial Publicity
was created on April IT, 1917, and the following organization
formed to mobilize the art forces of the United States :

O/mirman.— Charles Dana Gibson.

Vice chairman and secretary. — F. D. Casey.

Associate chairmen. — ^Herbert Adams, E. H. Blashtield, Ralph Clark-
son, Cass Gilbert, Oliver D. Grover,, Francis Jones, Arthur F. , Mat-
thews, Joseph Pennell, Eldmond Tarbell, Douglas Volk.

Executive committee. — F, G. Cooper, N. Pousette-Dart, I. Doskow,
F. E. Dayton, G. B. Falls, Albert E. Gallatin, Ray Greenleaf, Miss
Malvina Hoffman, W. A. Rogers, Lieut. Henry Reuterdahl, U. S. N.
R. F. ; H. Scott Train, H. D. Welsh, J. Thompson WiUing, H. T. V^^eb-
ster, V/alter Whitehead, Jack Sheridan.

Departmental captains. — G. B. Falls, H. T. Webster, Walter White-
head, Ray Greenleaf, I. Doskow, N. Pousette-Dart, H. Scott Train.

Enlisting for the duration of the Avar, as members of the
division, American painters, sculptors, designers, postermen,
illustrators, and cartoonists volunteered their artistic services
to the Government, and w^orked together under the chairman-

REPORT COMMITTEE OIsT PUBLIC IKPORMATION. 41

ship of Mr. Gibson, with headquarters at No. 200 Fifth Ave-
nue, New York City.

To increase the scope of the committee and to stimulate
the personal interest of the artists outside of New York*
sectional branches were formed, and Oliver Dennett Grover,
of Chicago, became the chairman of the Western Committee,
Mr. E. Tarbell and Mr. Arthur F. Matthews taking charge
in Boston and San Francisco.

The full contribution of the artists of America to the na-
tional cause, as well as the reliance placed upon the Division
of Pictorial Publicity by every department of Government,
is shown by the following record of achievement :

American Red Cross, Wasbington and
New York

War savings stamps

Liberty Loan (third)

Liberty Loan (fourth)

Shipping Board

American Library Association

War Camp Community Service

Ordnance Department

Training Camp Activities

Food Administration

Fuel Administration

Department of Agriculture

War Department

Public Health Service

Young Men's Christian Association

Young Women's Christian Association.

Signal Corps

Signal Corps, Aviation

Division of Films

Committee of Patriotic Societies

Turner Construction Co

United States Boys Working Reserve..

Committee on National Defense

Western Newspaper Union

War Risk Insurance

Committee on Public Information

Division of Advertising

Squad A, Magazine Gun

Mothers' Day

Chain Stores

Food for France

Department of Labor

Department of Interior

United States Tank Corps

Salvation Army ■

Treasure and Trinket Fund

Boy Scouts

Jewish Welfare

Trades for Disabled Soldiers

Railroad Administration

Motor Corps

Southern Pine Association

Federation of Neighborhood Associa-
tions

Office of Chief of Staff

International Arms & Fuse Co

Bastile Day

Poster
designs.

100
50
3

100
100
7

101
18
10
50
25
11
11
14
6
6
4
1
33

Car, bus,

and
window
cards.

News-
paper and
other ad-
vertising.

100
25
16
25

Seals,
cartoons.! b«

' etc.

50 I
50 i

20 !

7 !

42 REPORT COMMITTEE 0^ PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Poster
designs.

Car, bus,

and
window
cards.

News-
paper and
other ad-
vertising.

Cartoons.

Seals,
buttons,
banners,

etc.

Marine Corps

5
2
2

American Poets Committee

Federal Food Board

3
2

Rehabilitating Wounded Soldiers

1
1

3
1

Official Bulletin

Phonograph Recruiting Records

United War Work Campaign

RECAPITULATION.

Departments and committees requesting work 58

Poster designs submitted 700

Cards requested 122

Newspaper and other advertising 310

Cartoons submitted 287

Seals, buttons, etc., executed 10

Total material (drawings, designs, etc.) - 1, 438

In addition to the above, Lieut. Henry Eeuterdahl and
N. C. Wyeth worked on a painting 90 feet long, 25 feet high,
^vhich was placed at the Subtreasury Building for the third
Liberty loan. Lieut. Eeuterdahl made also three paintings,
each over 20 feet, for the publicity of the fourth Liberty loan
in Washington, D. C.

During the United War Work Campaign the same plan
was followed, seven artists painting on days assigned, in
front of the Public Library, two others assigned in front of
the Metropolitan Museum. This work was carried on by
a committee of this division. These artists were :

F. D. Steele, Young Men's Christian Association.

Middleton Chambers, Knights of Columbus.

C. B. Falls, Salvation Army.

I. Olinsky, Jewish Welfare.

Denman Fink, Library Association.

Jean McLane, Young Woman's Christian Association.

Howard Giles, War Camp Community Service.

Charles Chapman and Luis Mora, MetropoUtan Museum.

An Allied War Salon, under the direction of Mr. Albert
Eugene Gallatin, appointed by Mr. Charles Dana Gibson,
to further the cause of pictorial propaganda and to acquaint

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 43

our people with the extent of our military and naval prepara-
tions, was held at the American Art Galleries from December
9 to 24. A feature of this salon was the 200 drawings by
the artists officially attached to our armies in France.

All of the above mentioned work was gratuitously offered
b}^ and through the Division of Pictorial Publicity.

Too great credit can not be given to Mr. Gibson and to
Mr. Casey for inspired leadership and tii-eless enthusiasm.

When Gen. Pershing cabled for the services of eight
artists, the question of picking the proper men was placed
in the hands of the Division of Pictorial Publicity.

Besides the work of procuring drawings, this division
has also arranged complete exhibitions of American posters
in such places as the Corcoran Art Gallery, in Washington;
the Academy of Fine Arts, of Philadelphia; the Art Insti-
tute, of Chicago; the Brooklyn Academy, Brooklyn, K. Y. ;
Aeolin Hall, Brooklyn; the Woman's Committee, East
Orange, N. J. ; the National Arts Club, of New York City ;
Taf t Hotel, New Haven, Conn. ; the Graphic Arts Society,
New York City; and the Philadelphia Sketch Club, Phila-
delphia.

THE DIVISION OF ADVERTISING.

I hereby create, under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Public
Information, heretofore estabUshed by Executive order of April 14,
1917, a Division of Advertising for the purpose of receiving and di-
recting through the proper channels the generous offers of the adver-
tising forces of the Nation to support the effort of the Government to
inform public opinion properly and adequately.

/ WooDROw Wilson.

By virtue of this authority, the advertising forces of the
United States were mobilized, and the great organizations,
by request, named these men to serve as a board of control:
Mr. William H. Johns, chairman, president of the Ameri-
can Association of Advertising Agencies, representing 115
leading firms of this kind in the country ; Mr. Thomas Cu-
sack, the acknowledged head of the poster and painted bul-
letin industry; Mr. W. C. D'Arcy, president of the Associ-
ated xldvertising Clubs of the World, representing 180 ad-
vertising clubs with a combined membership of 17,000 ; Mr.
O. C. Harn, chairman of the National Commission of the

44 REPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC Il!NrFORMATIO]Sr.

Associated Advertising Clubs of the World; Mr. Herbert
S. Houston, formerly president of the Associated Advertis-
ing Clubs of the World; Mr. Lewis B. Jones, president of
the Association of National Advertisers; and Mr. Jesse H.
Neal, executive secretary of the Associated Business Papers,
consisting of 500 leading trade and technical publications.

Over 800 publishers of monthly and weekly periodicals
gave space, worth $159,275.64 per month, for the duration of
the war and this was being increased monthly when the arm-
istice terminated the arrangement. In addition, advertisers
of merchandise purchased $340,981.21 vvorth of space in va-
rious nationally-circulated periodicals and turned this space
over to the Division of Advertising to use for Government
purposes. These were definite purchases for 1918, but indi-
cations had already been given that renewals would follow
in 1919. Figuring on a 3^early basis, the donation of space
only has totaled approximately $2,250,000. Of this, only
about $1,594,000 was used, owing to the sudden cessation of
activities.

Following summarizes in total all space with which the
Division of Advertising has dealt — all contributed by pa-
triotic advertisers and publishers for the winning of the war :

Insertions.

Circulation. !

Amount.

1,512

351,409,159 '

.S895, 108. 29

1,443

134,279,895 '

. 3(51,221.84

4,353

41,377,554 ,

238, 102. 47

House organs

831

14,38t>;475 1

52, 727. 60

8, 550. 00

653

6,272,630

17,567.00

College papers

377

1,107, 429 :

12,337.01

116

1 7, 700. 00

1, 500. 00

Total

9,307

548,833,148 „

1,594,814.71

1 Estimated.

Also much space in advertisers' own publications was de-
voted to Government work in a similar manner, but as such
space is not sold, a market value can not be put upon it.
Miscellaneous donations of space included space in mer- /
chants' local neAvspaper advertising and local advertising
through syndicated advertising service. We are unable to
include in our reported figures, though it has been of great
value, outdoor advertising in both poster and painted signs,

REPORT COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 45

totaling many thousands of dollars. Nor do these figures
indicate the advertising values contributed by window dis-
plays. This feature was made possible by the intelligent co-
operation of the International Association of Display Men.
This organization appointed a National War Service Com-
mittee on Window Displays, the chairman of which, Mr.
C. J. Potter, took a desk in the New York offices of the
Division of Advertising and not only turned over to the
division the entire window display resources of the* associa-
tion in 600 cities, but directed the entire work of creating
patriotic window displays throughout the country so that,
timed to the minute, they supplemented our campaigns in
the periodicals. The window display committee was instru-
mental in the building of 60,000 reported displays on various
Government subjects, and probably hundreds more un-
reported.

At the \ery top of the list of those who gave freely of their
time and of the services of their expert employees stand the
advertising agents of the country. Their services were of-
ferred without reserve and without charge, even much of
the finished work being furnished free of cost.

The Division of Advertising planned and handled cam-
paigns for the following agencies of the Government : Ship-
ping Board, War Savings, Food Commission, the Liberty
Loans, War Department, Training Camp Activities, De-
partment of Agriculture, Council of National Defense, De-
partment of Labor, Fuel Commission, United War Work
Drive, an^ the Eed Cross. It was this division that con-
ceived the idea and prepared the drawing and copy for " The
Greatest Mother in the World," since used as the Eed Cross
s^mibol. As an illustration of the manner in which this di-
vision handled a campaign, the case of the selective draft
may be described in detail. Gen. Crowder laid his problem
before the ex^Derts, explaining the need of a concentrated
drive in obtaining registration on September 12 of 13,000,000
men, 18 to 45 years of age. The Advertising Service Bulletin
and the Selective Service Register, folders containing ad-
vertisements, were prepared by the Division of Advertising
through the cooperation of its committees. The Advertising
Bulletin furnished newspapers and advertisers with officially
approved copy in both editorial and advertising form ready

46 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIO^T.

to run. This material was extensively used throughout the
country by newspapers and by advertisers in their local ad-
vertising. The Selective Service Register contained offi-
cially signed messages as to the duty of registration from
President Wilson, Secretary Baker, Gen. Crowder, Secretary
Daniels, and Gen. March, and was published to help IS^DOOjOOO
men to know how, when, and where to register. It contained
poster of notification of registration and explicit directions
of how to answer questions on registration card. Also in-
structions for registrars. Special mailings of these publica-
tions were produced and distributed through the Division
of Distribution to the extent of some 20,000,000 copies, in-
cluding 18,000 newspapers, 11,000 national advertisers and
agencies, 10,000 chambers of commerce and their members^
3P,000 manufacturers' associations, 22,000 labor unions^
10,000 public libraries, 32,000 banks, 58,000 general stores,
3,500 Young Mens' Christian Association branches, 10,000
members of the Council of National Defense. 1,000 advertis-
ing clubs, 56,000 post offices, 55,000 railroad station agents,
5,000 draft boards, 100,000 Eed Cross organizations, 12,000
manufacturers' agents. Also there was a special mailing
card sent out to a list of 43,000 Rural Free Delivery routes.

Also there was planned a street-car campaign which ran
throughout the country, including space in the Subway Sun
and Elevated Express in all cars of the Interborough Eapid
Transit Co., of New York City. A poster and painted-sign
campaign w^as also planned and displayed throughout the
countr}^

Through the services of the National War Service Com-
mittee on Window Displays approximately 37,000 posters or
notices to register were displayed in the windows of promi-
nent stores in over 600 cities.

A full-page advertisement of the Selective Eegistration
Day appeared in publications of general circulation, includ-
ing leading farm publications, practically all of the trade
and technical journals.

This excerpt from an appreciation by Gen. Crowder is an
example of the many that were sent to the division by heads
of the Government : ^

Now that the rush of registration preparation has abated, I take
the first available moment to express to you and your division my

EEPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 47

gratitude for your hearty cooperation in the task of securing publicity
for the Registration Day.

Over and above the fine organization of the committee's staff as a
whole, what has impressed me particularly in your division is the thor-
oughness with which you have organized the patriotic assistance of
private citizens in contributing to the public service rendered by the
committee. It is genuinely American in its method — this voluntary
union of individual citizens to accomplish these results which in some
Continental countries are left to tlje vast army of Government officials.
Yours faithfully,

E. H. Crowder,
Provost Marfihal General.

FILM DIVISION.

At the very outset the Committee on Public Information

made the decision that the three great agencies of appeal in
the fight for public opinion were: The Written Word, the
Spoken Word, and the Motion Picture. Even as the speak-
ing forces and the writers of the Nation were mobilized, so
were steps taken in the very first days to utilize every resource
of the camera.

In the beginning the Film Division contented itself with
taking the war material made by the Signal Corps, at home
and abroad, and distributing it fairly, and at a nominal
price, to the weekly film services for distribution. Expert
camera men were also employed with the production of fea-
ture pictures to be distributed by the various patriotic socie-
ties, and State councils of defense, in such manner as to avoid
competition with the commercial motion picture industry.
Among the early pictures thus produced were :

The 1917 Recruit, 2 editions (training of the National Army).
The Second Liberty Loan.

Ready for the Fight (Artillery and Cavalry maneuvers).

Soldiers of the Sea (Marine Corps in training).

Torpedo Boat Destroyers (naval maneuvers).

Submarines.

Army and Navy Sports.

The Spirit of 1917 (the largest maneuver staged in America; an
attack by the Jackies at Lake BlufC upon Fort Sheridan, 111. ) .

In a Southern Camp (general Army maneuvers).

The Lumber Jack (showing the growth of the Lumber Jack Regi-
ment for reconstruction work in Europe).

48 EEPORT COMMITTEE 02^r PUBLIC INFORMATION.

The Medical Officers' Reserve Corps in Action (showing the develop-
ment of the Medical Corps and training).,

Fire and Gas (showing maneuvers of the new Thirtieth Engineer
Regiment).

American Ambulances (complete display of ambulance work).
Labor's Part in Democracy's War (labor-union activities in the
war).

Annapolis (naval officers in the making).

Ship Building (construction of all types of ships).

Making of Big Guns.

Making of Small Arms.

Making of Uniforms for the Soldiers.

Activities of the Engineers.

Woman's Part in the War.

Men Who Are Doing Things (portraying upon the screen, as far as
possible, every person who is mentioned in public print as being active
in war preparations).

The Conquest of the Air (airplane and balloon maneuvers).

These pictures were not put in motion-picture theaters,
except when especially engaged for the purposes of some war
benefit; the}'' w^ere shown free, except when used for such
benefits. As time went on, however, it was seen that this
method of distribution not only put an unnecessary burden
of expense upon the Government, but that it was failing abso-
lutely to place the pictorial record of America's war progress
before more than a small percentage of the motion-picture
audiences of the world. The growth of the Signal Corps'
great photographic section was producing an enormous
amount of material, both iii the United States and France,
possessed of the very highest propaganda value, and for
purposes of 100 per cent utilization, the policies of the Film
Division were subjected to a radical reorganization under
Mr. Charles S. Hart. Great feature films, like Pershing's
Crusaders, America's Answer, and Under Four Flags, were
made, given impressive showings under governmental aus-
pices in the larger cities, and then distributed under an equi-
table commercial arrangement that returned to the Govern-
ment the full cost of production.

England, France, and Italy were drawn into partnership
with us, and an Official War Eeview, issued weekly, carried
to every part of the world a weekly presentation of the fight-
ing on every front, and the story of each nation's efforts and
determinations.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON f»UBLIO iNFORMATIOK. 49

The congressional appropriation for the work of the Film
Division was $205,000, given June 30, 1918. By March, 1919,
over $400,000 had been turned into the Treasury of the United
States by the Film Division. In addition to this showing
of profit, receipts were generous enough to meet much of the
cost of the free distribution of these films in the neutral
countries of the world, as well as enabling the educational
department to furnish free service to training camps and base
hospitals, as well as to a great number of patriotic organiza-
tions and institutions.

In June, 1918, the Bureau of Allied War Expositions was
organized as a bureau in the Division of Films, and on
September 1, 1918, the division absorbed the Bureau of War
Photographs.

The Bureau of War Photographs is the only department
of this division which does not show a profit. This has been
due to the fact that we have made every effort to furnish a
service to the families of the boys overseas who were in-
terested in securing official pictures at an extremely low rate.

DIVISION OF FILMS, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Gross income report for the period ended May SI, 1919.
Income from Division of Films :

Pershing's Crusaders $181, 741. 69

America's Answer 185, 144. 30

Under Four Flags 63, 946. 48

Official War Review 334,622.35

Our Bridge of Ships 992. 41

U. S. A. Series 13, 864. 98

Our Colored Fighters 640. 60

News AVeekly 15, 150. 00

Miscellaneous sales_^ 56, 641. 58

Total sales from films 852, 744. 39

Sale of property 2, 685. 45

Interest and discount ' 4, 564. 51

859, 994. 35

121033—20 4

50 REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Income from Expositions:

S'an Francisco > $54,274.80

Los Angeles 65, 375. 75

Chicago 583, 731. 24

Cleveland ^ 167, 355. 51

Waco 16, 904. 70

Pittsburgh 147, 804. 16

Kansas City 28, 646. 20

Cincinnati 66, 541. 20

Buffalo 60, 354. 27

'St Louis . 23,570.40

New Orleans 14,439.20

Toledo 50, 003. 02

Detroit 63, 470. 74

Houston 22, 684. 05

Milwaukee ^ 49, 372. 02

St. Paul (small exhibit) 9, 065. 34

Jackson (small exhibit) 5,169,29

Little Rock (small exhibit) 2, 458. 72

Oklahoma (small exhibit) 1 4,664.71

Great Falls ( small exhibit ) 996. 07

Waterloo (small exhibit) 1,122.85

Total income, Expositions 1,438,004.24

Income from Bureau of War Photographs :

Sales of photographs and slides 68, 857. 38

Sales of property . 1, 196. 56

Interest and discount 546. 16

Total income, Bureau of War Photographs 70, 600. 10

Receipts from Foreign Section :

Archangel 3, 928, 00

Argentina 3, 293. 49

China 2, 055. 88

Holland 58, 698. 93

Italy 29, 729. 49

Mexico 25, 423. 29

Spain - 14, 000. 00

Sweden - 6, 44L 38

Switzerland H, 196. 69

Miscellaneous 24,287.86

179, 155. 01

Interest 284. 69

179, 439. 70

Total income 2, 548, 038. 39

(Vladivostok and Harbin reports not yet received.)

BEPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEOBMATION. 51

PERSONNEL OF THE DIVISION OF FILMS.

Director, — Charles S. Hart.

Domestic Distril)ution, — Denis J. Sullivan.

Educational Bureau.— Mi^ii Clare de Lissa Berg.
Bureau of War Expositions. — Chester I. Campbell, William Ganson
Rose, Dean G. Mathews, directors.

Bureau of War Photographs. — William A. Grant.

Department of Scenarios and Domestic Production. — Rufus Steele.

Auditing Department. — T. S. Barrett.

Foreign Film DistriMtion. — Marcus A. Beeman, E. M. Anderson.
Distribution feature pictures. — George Bowles.
Tjahoratory. — Robert Rinehart.

I^,UKEAU OF DIST1MBUTI0^^ OF THE DIVISION OF FILMS.

Film distribution Avas handled (outside of the States of
California, North Dakota, and Michigan, in which States
the distribution of Government films was in charge of the
councils of defense of those respective States) by contract
with established film-distributing organizations on a per-
centage basis, in accordance with the established custom in
the motion-picture industry.

The respective Government films were distributed by the
following distributing organizations :

Official War Review, Pathe Exchange (Inc).

Pershing's Crusaders, First National Exhibitors' Circuit (Inc.).

America's Answer, World Film Corporation.

Under Pour Flags, World Film Corporation.

IJ. S. A. Series, World Film Corporation.

Our Colored Fighters, Downing Films Co. (colored).

Divisional representatives. — From September 15 to De-
cember 15 the Domestic Distribution Department had in the
field 17 sales representatives stationed in the various centers
of distribution, such as New York, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago,
Indianapolis, St. Louis, Seattle, Salt Lake City, New Orleans,
and Atlanta, which representatives supervised the sales
efforts of the distributor and made direct governmental
appeal to exhibitors on behalf of the Government films, and
also adjusted and regulated the problems resulting from the
close and noncompetitive booking of these films.

The aim of this department was to secure the widest pos-
sible distribution of the Government films in the shortest

52 REPOBT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORMATION.

possible time. To this end every effort was made to elimi-
nate the competitive idea from the minds of exhibitors and
to, wherever possible, secure simultaneous showings in
houses which ordinarily competed for pictures.

Proportionate selling plan. — There was also inaugurated
a proportionate selling plan whereby the rental charged
every house was based on the average income derived from
that particular house. By this method the small house as
well as the large one could afford to run the Government
films. The result of these efforts to obtain the widest possible
showing for Government films is tabulated below, and it
may be mentioned that the showing of America's Answer
breaks all records for range of distribution of any feature
of any description ever marketed.

Title of production.

Reels
(each).

Number
of prints
circu-
lated.

Total
bookings

of
record.

Number
of

theaters
played.

Con-
tracted
theaters
still to

play.

Official War Review (1 every week for
31 weeks)

7
5
5
2

1 145
112
103
73
25

6,950
4,189
4, 548
1,820
212

6, 950
3,352
3,026
716

Pershing's Crusaders

America's Answer

Under Four Flags

U. S. A. Series (4 subjects)

837
1,522
1,104

1 Of each issue.

Additional contracts on all features are still being received.
(This report as noted above does not include the States of
North Dakota, California, and Michigan.)

On the basis of a total of 12,000 motion-picture theaters in
the United States, over one-half the total number of theaters
in the country exhibited the Official War Review and nearly
that portion America's Answer. (Bearing in mind that three
States are not included in the figures on the Government
distribution. )

In the film industry a booking of 40 per cent of the theaters
is considered as 100 per cent distribution because of the close
proximity of a great number of theaters, rendering them
dependent on the same patronage — ^that is, theaters are plotted
as available in zones rather than as individual theaters, thus
three theaters in one zone present but one possible booking
because of the identity of clientele. Taking this into con-

REPORT COMMITTEE OIsT PUBLIC INFORMATIOIJ. 53

sideration, the distribution of Government features approxi-
mated 80 per cent and 90 per cent rather than 50 per cent
distribution, although on America's Answer in certain terri-
tories such as New York and Seattle the percentage of total
theaters booked reached over 60 per cent and 54 per cent,
respectively, which on the above basis would equal 100 per
cent distribution.

Neios weeklies, — In addition to the above activities this
department furnished to each of the four film news week-
lies — Gaumont, Pathe, Universal, and Mutual — a - weekly
quota of 500 feet of topical Avar film to be incorporated into
their respective film news weeklies.

Theater admissions, — Beginning with America's Answer
a clause Avas inserted in the feature contract with the ex-
hibitor expressly providing that no advance in admission
prices should be made during the showing of the Government
films; this was made practical by the proportionate selling
plan in effect, and it also made it possible for the public to
see these features at the same price paid to see any film at
the particular theater, small or large.

Publicity. — Publicity matter was furnished to newspapers
and periodicals of all description throughout the country,
which was used generously by those publications, which also
cooperated splendidly Avith local theaters on these features
by timing the publication of this matter just preceding and
concurrently with the local play dates of the Government
features.

This department also prepared and distributed to every
exhibitor in the' United States press sheets on the several
Government films, Avhich stimulated bookings, especially in
the remote communities not reached by the general publicity.

Government presentations, — In order to lend a certain dig-
nity to the Government features which would be sufficiently
impressive to take them out of the class of ordinary motion-
picture productions in the minds of the general public, and
to stimulate interest in them on the part of officials and in-
fluential citizens whose expressed opinions were worth much
in securing showings of these pictures, there were given
governmental presentations of each of the three big features
as follows :

54 REPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATION.

Pershing's Crusaders was shown in the following 24 princi-
pal cities of the United States :

Boston, Mass.
Buffalo, N. Y.
Chicago, in.
Cincinnati, OMo.
Cleveland, Ohio.
Columbus, Ohio.
Denver, Colo.
Detroit, Mich.

America's Answer

Albany, N. Y.
Atlanta, Ga.
Atlantic City, N. J.
Baltimore, Md.
Birmingham, Ala.
Boston, Mass.
Bridgeport, Conn.
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Chicago, 111.
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cleveland, Ohio.

Kansas City, Mo.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Minneapolis, Minn.
New York, N. Y.
Omaha, Nebr.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Pittsburgh, Pa,
Portland, Oreg.

St. Louis, Mo.
St. Paul, Minn.
Salt Lake City, Utah.
San Francisco, Calif.
Seattle, Wash.
Spokane, Wash.
Toledo, Ohio.
Washington, D. C.

in the 34 following cities :

Columbus, Ohio. Omaha, Nebr<
Dayton, Ohio.
Denver, Colo.
Hartford, Conn.
Indianapolis, Ind.
Kansas City, Mo.
Macon, Ga.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Minneapolis, Minn
Nashville, Tenn,
New Haven, Conn.
New York, N. Y.

Under Four Flags in the following nine cities :

Philadelphia, Pa.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Portland, Oreg.
Providence, R. I.
St. Louis, Mo.
St. Paul, Minn.
Tacoma, W^ash.
Washington, D. G.
Worcester, Mass.

New York, N. Y.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Baltimore, Md.
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dayton, Ohio.

Indianapolis, Ind.
Chicago, 111.
St. Louis, Mo.
Kansas City, Mo.

Each of these so-called ofRcial showings extended over the
period of a week or more and were presented at municipal
halls, well-known legitimate or motion-picture theaters cen-
trally located in the respective cities. Wide and intensive
publicity and advertising campaigns were conducted by rep-
resentatives on the spot by means of department-store win-
dow and hotel-lobby displays, street-car cards and banners
and newspaper space donated by local advertisers, etc. This
campaign also included circularization and personal inter-
views with representatives, officials, and leading citizens,
clubs, societies, and organizations, including large industrial
plants and firms. Churches, schools, chambers of commerce,
political and social clubs, Young Men's Christian Associa-

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 55

tioiij Red Cross, Liberty loan and fraternal organizations
were among those included in the lists.

In many instances portions of the house or the entire
house on certain evenings were sold en bloc to organizations
which attended en masse. These showings and the local
notables attending were given publicity in the local press,
thereby stimulating attendance at the regular showings in
the local motion-picture houses in the respective territories
which followed.

Taking for example the official presentations in New York
City — Pershing's Crusaders was shown at the Lyric Theater ;
America's Answer was shown at the George M. Cohan The-
ater; Under Four Flags was shown simultaneously at the
Rivoli and Rialto Theaters on Broadway — each of these
showings was preceded by a press campaign of about two
weeks, several hundred 24-sheet, 3-sheet, and 1-sheet posters
were posted, and thousands of window cards displayed, invi-
tations were sent to all local dignitaries, and the showings
were attended by representatives of the French, British, and
Italian High Commissions. In Washington, members of
Congress, the President, his Cabinet, and many other officials
attended, all of which facts were used extensively in adver-
tising the features for general distribution.

Screen fledge. — All theaters which played one or more
Government films were supplied with a certificate, of service
rendered the Government by the dedication of their screen
to the support of its work.

EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF THE - DIVISION OF FILMS.

This department has had a stock of reels coQiprising Persh-
ing's Crusaders, America's Answer, Under Four Flags, Our
Colored Fighters, Our Bridge of Ships, the early issues of
the Official War Review, and several short pictures having
to do with naval and military training.

This was one of the first departments created in the Divi-
sion of Films for the purpose of furnishing material free of
charge to various patriotic organizations. It entailed con-
siderable expense in cost of material and organization over-
head, which expense was carried by other departments of
this division.

56 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

The films were loaned to Army and Navy stations, educa-
tional and patriotic institutions, without charge except trans-
portation. Other organizations and individuals were usually
charged $1 per reel for each day used. When it is considered
that the average reel costs $40 for raw stock and printing, and
that the average life of a reel is about 200 runs, it can be
readily seen that this charge of $1 per reel barely covers cost.
For the purpose of comparison the leading motion picture
houses in New York pay as high as $3,000 for the use of one
picture for one week's run.

SCENARIO DEPARTMENT OF THE DIVISION OF FILMS.

This department began operations on June 1, 1918. Its
undertakings were based on a theory until then untried.
The departments at Washington had been in the habit of
contracting for the production of films on propaganda sub-
jects and then making additional contracts to secure a more
or less limited circulation of the pictures when produced.
The general attitude of motion-picture exhibitors was that
propaganda pictures were uninteresting to audiences and
could have no regular place in their theaters. The theory
of the Division of Films was that the fault lay in the fact
that propaganda pictures had never been properly made,
and that if skill and care were employed in the preparation
of the scenarios the resultant pictures could secure place in
regular motion-picture programs. Producers were at first
skeptical, but in the end they agreed to undertake the pro-
duction of one-reel pictures for which the Division was
to supply the scenario, the list of locations and permits for
filming the same, and to give every possible cooperation, all
without charge. The finished picture became the sole prop-
erty of the producer, who obligated himself merely to give
it the widest possible circulation after it had been approved
by the Division of Films. Mr. Eufus Steele was given
charge of the new venture, and while many difficulties had
to be overcome, the theory proved sound.

The following one-reel pictures were produced:

By the Paramount-Bray Pictograph :

Says Uncle Sam : Keep 'Em Singing and Nothing Can Lick 'Em —
the purpose and method of the vocal training of the Army and
the Navy.

)

REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION. 57

Says Uncle Sam : I Run the Biggest Life Insurance Company on
Earth — the story of the War Risk Insurance Bureau.

Says Uncle Sam : A Girl's a Man for A' That — the story of women
in war work.

Says Uncle Sam: I'll Help Every Willing Worker Find a Job —
the story of the United States Employment Service.
By the Pathe Co. :

Solving the Farm Problem of the Nation — the story of the United
States Boys' Working Reserve.

Feeding the Fighter — the story of how the Army was supplied
with food.
By the Universal Co. :

Reclaiming the Soldiers' Duds — the story of the salvage work
of the AVar Department.

The American Indian Gets into the War Game — how the Indian
took his place, both in the military forces and in food pro-
duction.
By C. L. Chester:

Schooling Our Fighting Mechanics — the work of the Committee
on Education and Special Training of the War Department.

There Shall Be No Cripples — the rehabilitation work of the Sur-
geon General's Office.

Colored Americans — the activities of the negroes, both in the
military forces and in war activities at home.

It's an Engineer's War — the work of the Engineers' training
camps of the War Department.

Finding and Fixing the Enemy — certain work of the Engineer
Corps of the War Department.

Waging War in Washington — the method of Government opera-
tion.

All the Comforts of Home — ^the methods of War Department in
providing necessities and conveniences for the soldiers.

Masters for the Merchant Marine — the development of both of-
ficers and men for the new merchant navy.

The College for Gamp Cooks — the thorough training given men
who were to prepare the food for the soldiers.

Railless Railroads — the work of the Highway Transport Com-
mittee.

/ The following pictures, of more than one reel in length,
were made by private producers from our scenarios and
under our supervision:

By. C. L. Chester:

The Miracle of the Ships, a six-reel picture covering in detail
the construction of the carrier ships at Hog Island and other
yards, and showing every detail of construction, following the
iron from the mine to the steel mills, following the wood from
the forests to the shipyard, and the concrete through its several
stages to the molds.

58 KEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOK.

By The W. W. Hodkinson Corporation:

Made in America, an eight-reel picture telling the full story of
the Liberty Army. It follows the soldier through every stage
of the draft and through every step of his military, physical,
and social development and into the actual combat overseas.
This picture may be regarded as a particularly intei'esting
achievement of the Division of Films. Such a picture was
greatly desired by Gen. Munson, head of the Morale Branch of
the War Department, for circulation in the Army and among
the people of the United States, as well as abroad. As this
picture was to show the relation of the home life to the soldier,
professional actors and actresses and much studio work would
be required. The Morale Branch had no funds to pay for
such a picture, and the Division of Films was able to work out
a scenario of such promise that the Hodkinson Corporation
agreed to produce the picture at their own expense, which
they did at a cost exceeding $40,000. This picture was only
half completed when the armistice was signed, but because an
eifort was being made to make it something of a classic that
would record for all time how the great army was raised
and developed, the producers felt that the interest in it would
continue as strong as before. In February, 1919, it was shown
in Washington to the War College, then to Secretary Baker
and the staff, and also in a large theater which was crowded
with Government officials. The production won the highest
praise from the Secretary and officers. Upon learning of the
picture, Gen. Pershing immediately cabled a request for it and
copies went forward for his use.

Numerous other pictures had been arranged for and
would no doubt have been made by various producers had
not the armistice brought these undertakings to a termina-
tion.

. Late in the summer of 1918, our system of production
through outside concerns having worked out satisfactorily,
it Avas decided to undertake production on our own account.
Accordingly, scenarios were written and the following six
two-reel pictures were produced by the division:

If Your Soldier's Hit, showing the operation of the regimental de-
tachment and field hospital unit in getting wounded men off the
front line, giving them first aid and conveying them safely to re-
cuperation bases. This picture was made in conjunction with the
Surgeon General's Office at the training camp at Fort Riley, Kans.,
and the scenes were supplemented by scenes from overseas.

Our Wings of Victory, showing the complete processes of the manu-
facture and operation of airplanes for war purposes. The construe-

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 59

tion scenes were taken in the chief plane factories and were sup-
plemented by extraordinary scenes of flying.

Our Horses ©f War, showing how the remount depots of the Army
obtain and train the horses and mules for Cavalry and Artillery
purposes, and the feats performed by the animals so trained under
the manipulation of the soldiers.

Making the Nation Fit, showing how new recruits for the gieat
Army and the great Navy were developed to a stage of physical
fitness.

The Storm of Steel, showing how twelve billions of the Liberty
loan money was being expended in the construction of guns and
munitions. These scenes were taken in half a dozen of the chief
gun plants of the country and on the proving grounds and are the
most 'complete record in the Government's possession of this under-
taking.

The Bath of Bullets, showing the development and use of machine
guns in this war.

Beginning on December 23, 1918, the first four of these
two-reel pictures were released at intervals of two weeks
through the division's own exchanges. The last tAvo men-
tioned pictures w^ere not sent out, because they were purely
" war pictures " and also because there was no way in the
few weeks remaining of the division's existence to handle
j^roperly their national circulation.

A second series of six two-reel pictures had been laid out
and the filming was about to proceed when the armistice
caused the division to suspend all new undertakings.

BUREAU OF WAR EXPOSITIONS OF THE DIVISION OF FILMS.

The Bureau of Expositions was organized in May, 1918.
It was the result of a desire on the part of the public to see
the actual machinery of war, as well as the trophies which
were brought here by the representatives of the Allied Na-
tions.

The bureau combined into one group the trophies of Eng-
land, France, Belgium, Italy, Canada, and the United States.

It opened on the Pacific coast the first week in July at San
Francisco, going from there to Los Angeles in August and in
September to Chicago, where the Lake Front had been taken
for the exhibition. Nearly 2,000,000 people visited the ex-
position in Chicago in two weeks, the average daily attend-
ance being in excess of that of the Chicago World's Fair. In

60 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC IlSTFORMATIOISr.

this city alone the receipts were over $500,000 and the bureau
turned in to the United States Treasur}^ a net profit of
$300,000. .

Its financial success Avas not the result of a high admission
price, but due to the appeal of the exposition itself. On the
Pacific coast tickets were sold for 50 cents and were redeem-
able at the gate for a 25-cent war saving stamp in addition to
an admission ticket. This plan was followed for the purpose
of creating the war saving stamp habit in that territory.

In Chicago and the other cities listed below ^the tickets were
sold in advance for 25 cents ; children 2| cents.

The popularity of the exposition in the larger cities was
due to the cooperation of the War and Navy Departments,
which made possible the staging of sham battles which had
a tremendous appeal besides illustrating the modern methods
of trench Avar fare.

The War Exposition had the attraction of a circus and the
effect of a sermon. It brought home to the people the serious-
ness of Avar and the effect was immediately noticed in the
sales of Liberty bonds, Avar saving stamps, Eed Cross benefits^
and other agencies.

The cities where the War Exposition was shoAvn are listed

below :

Receipts.

CWcago J $583, 731. 24

San Francisco 54, 274. 80

Los Angeles 65, 375. 75

Cleveland 167, 355. 51

Waco 16, 904. 70

Pittsburgh 147, 804. 16

Kansas City 28, 646. 20

Cincinnati 66, 541. 10

Buffalo 60, 354. 27

St. Louis 23, 570. 40

St. Paul • 8,986.65

Jackson, Mich 2, 946. 48-

Little Rock, Ark 1, 595. 14

Oklahoma City, Okla 4, 236. 43

Great Falls, Mont 977.53

Waterloo, Iowa 983.93

New Orleans 14, 439. 20'

Toledo 50, 003. 02

Detroit 63, 470. 74

Houston 22, 684. 05-

EEPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION. 61
BUREAU OF WAR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DIVISION OF FILMS.

The first purpose of this bureau was to' open up the war
activities of the Nation to the exploitation of the camera.
Military authorities were naturally interested only in guard-
ing military secrets, but an agreement was finally reached by
which the Committee on Public Information agreed to inves-
tigate all applicants for camera permits, and also to pass
upon the pictures when taken. ' This system of investigation
and this method of voluntary censorship Avas a success from
the start. It is a tribute to the patriotism of the photo-
graphic and motion-picture industries that the bureau, with-
out a law of any kind behind it, enforced a censorship more
effective than that in any other belligerent country. No
request was ever ignored; also, while thousands of permits
were issued, none was ever abused.

A second step in the progress of this bureau was the dis-
tribution of photographs made by the Signal Corps. Not
alone was it the case that these pictures had a distinct com-
mercial value, but what was even more important, they had
Mgh educational values.

To secure the most efficient distribution a plan was evolved
which utilized the Photographic Association, which associa-
tion had members that syndicated their photographs interna-
tionally as well as nationally, namely, Underwood & Under-
wood, International Film Service, Brown Bros,, Paul Thomp-
son, Kadel &> Herbert, Harris & Ewing, Western Newspaper
Union, News Enterprise Association, and others, which
afforded a widespread distribution system. Through organ-
ized effort these syndicate members placed these photographs
in daily newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines, techni-
cal publications, and other media. To expedite production
and delivery a laboratory was secured in New York City
which was operated by the Signal Corps Photographic Divi-
sion in conjunction with Columbia University. The prices
fixed were nominal, designed only to cover expenses.

This department also furnished quantities of photographs
each week to the Foreign Service Section of the committee
for use in propaganda media in the Allied and neutral na-
tions, same being used in the making of posters, circular
matter, and in foreign newspapers and other publications.

62 REPOBT COMMITTEE 01^^ PUBLIC INFORMATION".

Photographs were also furnished for publicity purposes
for motion-picture features and were reproduced in hundreds
of newspapers reaching millions of circulation.

Another means of distribution of war ]Dhotographs was to
private collections, which comprised the universities , histori-
cal societies. State and municipal libraries, and any organiza-
tion that could make use of pictures for future reference.
Also, individuals who were interested in getting pictures of
war activities, more especially those who had members of
their families or friends directly connected with the war.

The Department of Slides was next added to the activities
of the bureau and supplied a long- felt need for official and
authentic photographs in stereopticon form for the use of
ministers, lecturers, school teachers, and others. We suc-
ceeded in putting out standard size black and white slides of
the finest workmanship at .15 cents each, which price saved
the user from 50 to 80 per cent.

At first the production of slides was entirely dependent on
the laboratory of the Signal Corps in Washington, which, as
the orders increased in volume, proved inadequate to turn
out sufficient quantity. The Committee on Public Informa-
tion then built its own laboratory, which had ample produc-
tion facilities.

The first few months we confined our work solely to pro-
ducing and distributing miscellaneous slides made from the
pictures released daily for the newspapers. Catalogues were
prepared listing all slides and were furnished to individuals
and organizations upon request.

There was a demand for illustrated lectures on the war.
Destruction of the churches in France by the Germans was
our first production, as a complete set of 50 slides. This
lecture was written by Prof. Tatlock.

Immediately after the release of the " Euined Churches " set,
the following were prepared : Our Boys in France, 100 slide.s;
Building a Bridge of Ships to Pershing, 50 slides ; To Berlin
Via the Air Route, 50 slides; Making the American Army, 50
slides. About 700 of these sets were ordered by patriotic
organizations and individuals, as well as churches and
schools.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATIOK. 63

The next illustrated lectures to be distributed were as fol-
lows: The Call to Arms, 58 slides; Trenches and Trench

Warfare, 73 slides; Airplanes and How Made, 61 slides;
Flying for America, 54 slides; The American Navy, 51
slides; The Navy at Work, 36 slides; Building a Bridge of
Ships, 63 slides ; Transporting the Army to France, 63 slides ;
Carrying the Home to the Camp, 61 slides. These sets were
prepared by George F. Zook, professor of modern European
history in Pennsylvania State College. A total of 900 were
ordered. While the greater number of orders came from
various parts of this country, many were received from for-
eign countries.

In the year of existence the Department of Slides distrib-
uted a total of 200,000 slides.

The entire stocks of this bureau, its files, and equipment
have been turned over to the War and Navy for continued
use.

OFFICIAL U. S. BULLETIN.

The Official Bulletin was established under order of the
President of the United States as a war-emergency institu-
tion, and printed daily by the Committee on Public Informa-
tion. During the war period it performed a function the
importance of which is attested by the directing heads, not
only of this Governrnent, but by the leaders of all the world
powers. It was a histor}^ — formal, official, without color
or bias.

The fundamental object in its establishment was:

That there might be some official source to which the public could
look for authoritative information as to the acts and proceedings
vitally affecting their legal rights and obligations; that there might
be put in print for all time a faithful record of the part played by the
Government of the United States in the World War; and that the
Government departments might be relieved of the very considerable
correspondence with persons desiring the character of information
which properly should be published from day to day; and that this
information should be disseminated throughout the Nation in an
effective manner.

The Official Bulletin performed all of these functions to
the last detail. It was an immediate means of Government

64 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOlf .

communication with the business interests with which the
Government has been in contractual relations; with the
offices of foreign Governments here and abroad, with the
consular service, and with the public desirous of information
of a specific character. Its monetary value to the Govern-
ment in the clerical labor and supplies it has conserved by
anticipating nation-wide inquiries in its daily record of the
facts represent an amount in excess of the cost of issuing
the Bulletin.

The Bulletin printed all issued records to date of every
casualty among our Army and Navy forces abroad and in the
camps and cantonments in the United States, the name of
every man taken prisoner, cited for bravery, or wounded on
the field of battle, every communique issued by Gen. Pershing,
every State paper, proclamation, executive order, and all
statements and pronouncements and addresses by the Presi-
dent since the entry of this Government into the w^ar. There
has also been printed every order, pronouncement, and regula-
tion issued by the heads of the great permanent Government
departments ; the Food, Fuel, and Railroad Administrations,
the War Industries Board, War Trade Board, Alien Property
Custodian, War Labor Board, the Postmaster General as
Director General of the Telephone, Telegraph, and Cable
Systems, and all other independent agencies of the Govern-
ment. Important contracts awarded, texts of important law s,
proceedings of the United States Supreme Court, daily
resume of important actions of Congress, Treasury state-
ments, etc., have been printed from day to day.

The Official U. S. Bulletin was the chain of intelligence
which linked the executive branch of the Government, its
departments, bureaus, and all of its war ramifications directly
with their related interests, to wit : Diplomatic Corps, distant
Government offices and agencies. Government contractors
and industries, Red Cross and kindred organizations, and
business associations.

Congress made practical use of the Official U. S. Bulletin.
There were innumerable calls for complete files from mem-
bers of the Senate and House. At the request of individual
Members of Congress, we admitted to the free lists thousands

REPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC IJSTEORMATIOK. 65

of constituents who sought information of the character that
the Bulletin printed.

The Bulletin went also to every camp library, here and
abroad. Gen. Pershing received an allotment each day for
the use of his general staif, and Admiral Sims likewise had
available a supply for his immediate staff.

To the War and Navy Departments the Bulletin performed
a remarkable service when it is understood that it Avould
have been an almost impossible task to suppl}'^ the individual
requirements for information so essential to all officers of the
military arms of the Government. The Secretary of War,
early in the life of the Bulletin, directed the commanding
officers of all military posts and stations to display the Bul-
letin in conspicuous places for the information of all con-
cerned.

In the Navy the Bulletin played a conspicuous part in
keeping the entire personnel advised formally and officially
of every order of the Secretary and all Government bodies.
Secretary Daniels directed that the Bulletin be forwarded
immediately after publication each evening to every depart-
mental bureau and ship and shore station of the Navy. All
commandants and commanding officers were instructed to
have it placed in a conspicuous place and to notify the officers
and men under their command of its existence and purpose.

The Post Office Department, supplementing its OAvn publi-
cation, the Postal Bulletin, which goes daily to all offices of
the first and second classes, and when occasion requires, to
those of the third class, but which does not go to 46,000 offices
of the fourth class, availed itself of the use of the Bulletin
as a Government medium through which pronouncements and
orders affecting the great postal service might daily be pub-
lished, thus enabling the Government, through the two publi-
cations, to keep daily in touch with postmasters and other
authorized agents of the department in 54,000 post offices
throughout the country.

The Food Administration had no official organ, but through
the Official U. S. Bulletin every State, city, and county ad-
ministrator in the United States was kept accurately and
officially advised concerning every order and pronouncement
emanating from the national administration. From the date

121038—20 5

66 BEPOET COMMITTEE O^T PUBLIC INEORMATIOlsr.

of the creation of the Food Administration, every order and
decree issued by Mr. Hoover appeared in the Official Bulletin.

The Fuel Administration likewise had no official organ,
and it was through the Official Bulletin that the army of fuel
administrators from coast to coast were kept regularly in-
formed as to the progress made by the Fuel Administration
in handling the vast problem confronting the Nation.

The War Trade Board and the War Industries Board relied
to a large extent upon the Official Bulletin to keep the com-
mercial and industrial world promptly and officially advised
of all rulings.

The Council of JSTationai Defense in a great measure also
reached its thousands of cooperating agencies through the
instrumentality of the Bulletin.

When the Government assumed control of the railroads of
the country, the Director General of Railroads had no other
official medium than the Bulletin through which to reach the
nearly two million employees of the great railroad systems,
copies of all orders, of course, were sent to the central railroad
offices, but, as in the case of the Food and Fuel Administra-
tions, there was no permanent printed record of such orders,
except as they appeared in the Official Bulletin ; and in all
railroad offices of the cou:ntry this publication was preserved
religiously so that it might be referred to whenever matter of
importance developed.

Monthly circulation.

1917.

Daily average:

May 60,000

June 67, 000

July 70, 000

August 77, 500

September 82, 000

October 89,081

November 90, 341

December 94, 912

1918.

January 99,000

February 102, 603

March 106, 233

April 109,513

1918— Continued.
Daily average — Continued.

May 111,870

June 113, 782

July 115, 639

August ^ 118,008

September 113,136

October_ 115, 031

November 108, 4V7

December 97, 074

1919.

January 90, 269

February 89, 886

March 33, 454

BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INPORMATIOlsr. 67

A prohibitive subscription price of $5 a 3^ear was fixed for
the general public so that the Bulletin might not be accused
of competing with the private enterprise of newspaper pub-
lications. Nevertheless, the amount received from subscrip-
tions increased from $1,644.20 in the month of May, 1917, to
$3,821.10 in the month of January, 1919, as shown by the
following table of receipts :

1917.

May $1, 644. 20

June 1, 213. 52

July 2, 076. 00

August__ 1, 722. 00

September 1, 978. 05

October 2, 177. 50

November 2, 549. 65

December 3, 373. 65

1918.

January 2, 591. 75

February 2, 462. 50

March 2, 566. 15

AprU 2, 898. 85

1918— Continued.
.May $3,739. 85

June

July

August

September.

October

November-
December.

4, 356. 85

5, 502. 15

6, 574. 50

7, 333. 75

8, 768. 99
10, 143. 80

6, 023. 43

1919.

January 3, 821. 10

February 1, 863. 00

March 69. 00

The OfRcial Bulletin ceased puiblication April 1, 1910.
The full credit fordts success and achieyement is due to Mr,
E. S. Rochester, its editor from the first day to the last.

THE SERVICE BUREAU.

During the early months of the war it became apparent
that delay and confusion in the transactions of the public
business resulted from lack of knowledge of the organization
of the executive departments, of the distribution of the duties
of each among its bureaus and divisions, of the personnel
in charge, of the location of the many offices in which they
were established, and of ready means of intercommunication.
To minimize and avoid such delays and to facilitate the trans-
actions of public business as much as possible, by directing
persons to the offices which they were seeking, the Service
Bureau was created on March 19, 1918, by the following
Executive order of the President :

I hereby create under the direction of the Committee on PubUc
Information, created by Executive order of April 14, 1917, a Service

68 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. .

Bureau, for the purpose of establishing a central office in the city
of Washington where complete information records may be available
as to the function, location, and personnel of all Government agencies.

I hereby ask the several departments of Government, when so re-
quested by the chairman of the Committee on Public Information, to
detail such person or persons as may be necessary in gathering the
information needed and carrying on the work of the bureau so far as
it relates to such departments ; to give opportunity to the director of
the bureau, or such person as he may designate, to secure information
from time to time for the purpose of keeping the records up to date ; to
supply the director of the bureau on form cards, furnished by him,
with information as to personnel, function, and location.

WooDEOw Wilson.

In April, it moved into permanent quarters at Fifteenth
and G Streets, and on May 1 opened its doors to the public.
During its existence the bureau ansAverecl 86,000 inquiries.

Appropriate advertising was distributed in all of the hotels
of the city, and cards were placed on the information desks
of the various departments and hotels and at the Union Sta-
tion. In May, the information booths at the Union Station,
conducted by the Ordnance and Quartermaster Bureaus of
the War Department and N'avy Department, were taken over.
During September, when the Allied "War Exposition was held
in Chicago, a branch of the Service Bureau was established
there, and the reports show that much information was given
to the thousands of people who applied at the booth.

Records were compiled that showed :

(1) Complete organizations of the executive departments
of the Government, in bureaus, divisions, committees, com-
missions, and all other subdivisions.

(2) The general character of the business or duties assigned
to each subdivision.

(3) The names in full and titles, if any, of the persons in
charge of such divisions, including chief clerks, with the room
number, location of building, and telephone number in each
case.

(4) Similar information covering the various councils,
commissions, and other bodies not included under any Gov-
ernment department.

The sources for this information Avere official, and in most
instances were furnished on the inclosed forms by heads of

REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORMATIOIT. 69

departments. As the changes in organization, personnel, or
function occurred within the departments they were reported
on the forms provided by the bureau. During the period of
the greatest expansion of the Government these changes oc-
curred at the rate of 300 to 500 daily.

In addition to this directory of the Government it was nec-
essary to keep a personnel file of all persons engaged in any
kind of war work in Washington, also the names, locations,
functions, and officers of all charitable and relief organiza-
tions, or war agencies of an^^ kind. The sources for this infor-
mation were the daily press, city and telephone directories,
and personal investigations by members of the staff of any
new trail which opened.

The work of the bureau fell into two distinct sections : (1)
The directory and information compiling division ; (2) the in-
formation dispensing service, which included handling the
mail as well as the personal and telephone requests.

The directory was com]3iled by a group of 10 cataloguers
and as many typists detailed to the bureau from the various
Government departments. They \Yorked out the directory
along the j)lan outlined above, and it proved to be a practical
and efficient arrangement.

The organization files were copied by two different Gov-
ernment departments who wanted them for their own offices,
viz, the Central Bureau of Planning and Statistics, and the
Information Division of The Adjutant General's Office of the
War Department.

The chief sources for general information were the library,
the files of the Official Bulletin, and our clippings from the
daily press. The library consisted of a small collection of
Avell-chosen reference books, the annual reports of all Govern-
ment departments, and a large collection of pamphlets on
subjects connected with the prosecution of the war, published
by numerous patriotic and educational organizations, as well
as by the Government.

Our most authoritative source of information was the
Official Bulletin, which we carefully indexed. It proved
invaluable in answering requests for information by letter.
Many times we were able to furnish the exact and authori-
tative information by sending a copy of the Official Bulletin.

70 REPOKT COMMITTEE ON" PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Another valuable accumulation of information was in our
clipping files. This was particularly helpful in answering
questions of current interest.

The questions in the letters received covered every imag-
inable field of human thought and endeavor. In all cases
in which avc had the available information at hand, or, if it
was of such a nature that it could be procured readily by
telephone, we answered the letters direct. If the question
was such that came well within the province of one of the
Government departments, we referred the letter to that de-
partment, keeping a record of all such references. In many
instances when the request for information indicated that the
writer w^as not seeking anything specific, we sent a selection
of pamphlets, or a few numbers of the Official Bulletin.

It was at the information desks, however, where the bureau
did its best and most telling work, and this includes the in-
formation desk which we established in the Union Station.
The number of inquiries increased month by month, reach-
ing a maximum in the month before the armistice was signed,
during which time we answered 12,176 questions asked by
10,697 persons, and answered 2,773 letters.

Following is a list of the members of the staff who had
charge of definite lines of work :

Director, Frederick W. McEe3molds, from March 1, 1918,
to February 1, 1919, when he resigned to become a special
agent of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. He was succeeded
by Martin A. Morrison, who was in charge of the bureau
until March 12, when he was ax:>pointed as a Civil Service
Commissioner by the President. Miss Mary E. Schick, oflice
manager from the beginning, was then promoted to be di-
rector of the bureau.

Mr. Frank E. Hackett gave his services to the bureau dur-
ing the first month of its activities, and together with Mr.
Arthur J. Klein made the initial survey of all of the depart-
ments. Mr. Klein remained with the bureau until October
15, when he resigned and his place was taken by Mr. G. K.
Eichards, who served without compensation until April 1,
1919.

Miss Emily A. Spilman, assistant librarian, Depart-
ment of Justice, supervised the compiling of the directory.

REPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC lETOEMATIOlsT. 71

being detailed to the bureau by her department for two
months.

The Service Bureau was disbanded and the activities were
distributed as follows on April 1, 1919:

The files were taken over by the Division of Education and
Information of the Department of Labor, the publications
were sent to the Government Printing Office for distribution
through regular Government channels, and the library was
divided among the United States Military Academy at West
Point, N. Y., the Historical Section, United States Navy
Department, and the Army War College.

DIVISION OF EXHIBIT AT STATE FAIRS.

This division was created on March 11, 1918, for the
establishment oi, a war exhibition to be used by State fairs
throughout the country. Several meetings were held with a
committee representing the American Association of State
Fairs and Expositions with a view to ascertaining the course
to be pursued. Representatives of the Departments of the
Navy, Agriculture, Commerce, the Interior, and of the Food
Administration cooperated with the Committee on Public
Information, and formed a joint committee to prepare plans
and adopt the ways and means for this Government exhibit.

An itinerary was arranged, covering approximately 60
State fairs and expositions, for which was required three
carloads of material. It was arranged that each fair asso-
ciation should provide suitable space in an inclosed building,
paying transportation for the material on their respective
circuits,. also the cost of transportation and subsistence of a
motion-picture operator, and such other men as were not
otherwise provided for, have proper facilities and men for
unloading, setting up and taking down the exhibits, and' for
cleaning and guarding the exposition building. All other
expenses to be borne by the Committee on Public Information.

In carrying out the exhibit program the Government sent
its lessons to the very doors of about seven million people
throughout the country, telling by well-selected objects what
the great departments in Washington were doing to bring
victory to the armies that were fighting for truth and justice.

72 KEPOKT. COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC Il^TFOIlMATIOlNr.

The plan of exhibition, as finally arranged, divided the
country into the following six circuits:

Circuit No. 1 :

Sedalia, Mo., August 10-17, Missouri State Fair.

Des Moines, Iowa, August 23-31, Iowa State Fair.

Hamlin (St. Paul), Minn., September 2-7, Minnesota State Fair.

Milwaukee, AVis., September 9-14, Wisconsin State Fair.

Oklahoma City, Okla., September 21-28, Oklahoma State Fair.

Wicliita, Kans., October 7-12, Wichita Fair.

Dallas, Tex., October 15-27, Texas State Fair.

Waco, Tex., November 2-14, Texas Cotton Palace Association.
Circuit No. 2 :

Springfield, 111., August 9-24, Illinois State Fair.

Detroit, Mich., August 30-September S, Michigan State Agrl
cultural Society.

Nashville, Tenn., September 16-21, Tennessee State Fair.

Memphis, Tenn., September 21-28, Memphis Tri- State Fair.

Knoxville, Tenn., October 7-12, East Tennessee Fair.

Atlanta, Ga., October 14-19, Southeastern Fair Association, '

Valdosta, Ga., October 30-November 9, Georgia State Fair.

Jacksonville, Fla., November 27-December 6, Florida State Fair
and Exposition.
Circuit No. 4:

Columbus, Ohio, August 26-31, Ohio State Fair;

Indianapolis, Ind., September 3-7, Indiana State Fair.

Topeka, Kans., September 9-14, Kansas Free Pair.

Hutchinson, Kans., September 16-21, Kansas State Fair.

Muskogee, Okla., September 30-October 5, Oklahoma Free Fair.

Kansas City, Mo., October 16-26, International Soil Products
Exposition.

Shreveport, La., October 30-November 4, Louisiana State Fair.
Circuit No. 5:

Lincoln, Nebr., September 1-6, Nebraska State Fair.

Douglas, Wyo., September 10-14, Wyoming State Fair.

Pueblo, Colo., September 23-28, Colorado State Fair.

Salt Lake City, Utah, September 28-October 5, Utah State Fair.

Los Angeles, Calif., October 12-26, California Liberty Fair.

Phoenix, Ariz., November 11-16, Arizona State Fair.
Circuit No. 6:

Huron, S. Dak., September 9-14, South Dakota State Fair.

The combined Government exhibit for each circuit con-
sisted of the following material :

From the War Department:

Ordnance Department: Machine guns, riiles, mountain guns, hand
grenades, trench helmets, and Infantry equipment.

BEPORT COMMITTEE 01^ PUBLIC INFORMATION. 73

Signal Corps: Eight live carrier pigeons, various kinds of hand-
signaling apparatus, portable field-wireless outfit, aviators' clothing,
and an aerial bomb.

Medical Department : Gas masks, emergency first-aid kits, field-
hospital chests, model of a base hospital, electric magnet for extracting
steel, and a complete outfit of splints for use on wounded men.

Quartermaster Corps: Four lay figures, showing different types of
uniform, models of the various kinds of tents, collection of campaign
badges, display board showing various chevrons of rank of noncom-
missioned officers, silk" colors, and bunting flags.

Corps of Engineers : Chests showing the various tools and appliances
used by this corps.

Commission on Training Camp Activities: Photographs showing
some of the activities of the commission.

Committee on Public Information : A series of enlarged photographs
showing the part taken by our country in the winning of the war.

Navy Department: The exhibits from this department consisted of
Marine Corps equipment, Lewis gun, also projectiles, depth bomb,
naval mine and anchor, destroyer and submarine winter clothing,
insignia and chevrons of commissioned and noncommissioned officers.

Departtnent of AffriculPiire : Consisted of materials from the follow-
ing branches of the department : Bureau of Forest Service, Bureau of
Plant Industry, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Chemistry,
Bureau of Markets, Bureau of Entomology, and the Biological Survey.
This exhibit consisted of photographs and photographic enlargements,
transparencies, charts, diagrams, maps, samples or specimens, and
models of special pieces of apparatus and instruments of various kinds
used in the investigations carried on by the different bureaus.

Department of Commerce: Exhibit from this department consisted
of a display of its work in connection with the propagation and dis-
tribution of edible fish and the experiments being made in the use of
fish skin as a substitute for leather.

Food Administration: The Food Administration exhibit consisted
of 12 decorative panels illustrating the history of the Food Adminis-
tration, charts showing propaganda material of the Educational
Division, and display cases containing samples of the work done by
the Home Conservation Division.

Department of the Interior: This department placed its specially
fitted mine rescue "cars at the disposal of those fairs that had track-
age facilities on their grounds. The cars were accompanied by their
regular crews, who gave demonstrations of the mine rescue apparatus.
This exhibit was made without expense to the fair associations that
were able to avail themselves of same. ' ^

There was also prepared a motion-picture exhibit for cir-
cuits 1 to 5, and a large collection of films was gathered for
this purpose, and the Government furnished its own machine

74 BEPORT COMMITTEE OlsT PUBLIC IJ^TFORMATION-.

and a motion-picture operator, the Committee on Public
Information paying the salaries of tAvo of these men and the
Department of Agriculture providing for the other three.

Owing to the epidemic of Spanish influenza, it was found
necessary to call off the Government exhibits at the following
places :

Circuit No. 1 : Dallas, Tex.

Circuit No. 2 : Eichmond, Va. ; Petersburg, Va.

Circuit No. 3 : Knoxville, Tenn. ; Macon, Ga.

Circuit No. 4 : Kansas City, Mo. ; Shreveport, La.

Circuit No. 5 : Phoenix, Ariz.

And the exhibit at the California Liberty Fair Association,
Los Angeles, Calif., was not held until December 4 to 15.

Upon request, the War Department detailed five enlisted
men from the Ordnance Department, the Medical Depart-
ment, and the Signal Corps, which enabled the assignment
of one man from each of these departments to each of the
circuits, and the Navy Department likewise sent a marine
and a sailor on each circuit.

As the combined exhibit was operated under the executive
direction of the Office of Exhibits of the Department of
Agriculture, that office designated an official of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture in charge of each circuit and two as-
sistants.

Capt. Joseph H. Hittinger, assigned to duty with the Com-
mittee on Public Information by the War Department, de-
serves the entire credit for the conduct of this division, di-
recting it throughout, and driving it to complete success by
his ability and energy.

DIVISION OF SYNDICATE FEATURES.

This division enlisted the A^olunteer services of the leading
novelists, essayists and short-story writers of America.
Some 50 men and women writers, and as many college presi-
dents and professors, constituted a virtual staff that worked
faithfully week after week. Among the number were
Samuel Hopkins Adams, Ellis Parker Butler, Booth Tark-
ington, Meredith Nicholson, Harvey O'Higgins, Herbert
Quick, John Spargo, William English Walling, Mary

EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INrORMATIOlS'. 75

Roberts Einehart, Wallace Irwin, Richard Washburn Child,
Samuel Merwin, Roland G. Usher, Ralph D. Paine, Martha
Bensley Bruere, Edward Mott Wooley, John Reed Scott,
Prof. John Erskine, Prof. Eugene Davenport, Crittenden
Marriott, J ames Collins, Rex Beach, Virginia Frazer Boyle,
and many others.

At first a good many personal pronouncements were used
to make clear why we are at war, to explain the ideals for
which we are fighting. Opinions of prominent iDeople were
in demand, though stories of our Avar activities were also
used. But the character of the matter sent out changed as
the war progressed. Our object was, in the newspaper
phrase, to " sell the war," and we tried to furnish, dressed
in acceptable newspaper style, the story of the war ma-
chine in its thousands of phases, the story of our boys over
there and over here, and the spirit that is back of the whole
great adventure.

The Division of Syndicate Features did not confine itself
wholly to fact stories and human interest stuff about army
and navy workers. It dealt also with the larger aspects that
were behind the immediate facts. It covered the racial, the
social, the moral, and the financial aspects of the war,
written by specialists in these lines.

The stories were used from Florida to Alaska, from
New York to California, reaching a circulation of about
12,000,000 a month. Assuming that each paper was read
by two people, it meant that one-fourth of the people in this
countr3^ had access to our syndicate stories.

We established also a semimonthly service for trade jour-
nals, labor papers, and house organs.

The success of the division owed much to the brilliant
direction of William MacLeod Raine, who was assisted by
Mr. Arthur MacFarlane.

DIVISION OF WOMEN'S WAR WORK.

This division Avas established November 1, 1917, under the
direction of Clara Sears Taylor, for the purpose of informing
and energizing the Avomen of the country, keeping in touch
with the various women's groilps, sending out material, and
giving impetus to all movements connected with the work

76 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

of American women in the war. During its existence about
I5OOO news stories and feature articles concerning the work of
women were sent out to 19,471 newspapers and organization
publications. These releases included a Avire and mail service
and were made up of news stories and feature articles. They
were sent daily to 2,861 papers in columns containing from
12 to 20 stories each. These stories Avere short and were
used by the papers on their editorial pages, in the magazine
sections, and by many women column writers. The absorp-
tion was remarkable, the material being used by publications
in every section of the country.

Two hundred and fifty pictures were furnished, showing
women actively engaged in war work.

Attem^Dt Avas also made to cover every phase of Avomen's
work through seven daily columns :

First, Avork being done in national organizations.

Second, in Government departments.

Third, decentralized organizations of Avomen's AVork
througout the United States.
Fourth, schools and colleges.

Fifth, churches. This column has been widely copied.
Sixth, foreign column.

Seventh, Avork being done by organizations of colored
women.

Two college brochures Avere issued. It is impossible to
estimate the number of these pamphlets which Avere dis-
tributed, because in a number of cases they Avere reprinted
locally. The colleges cooperated Avith the Women's Division
in response to these brochures in a remarkable manner.

Among the special feature releases sent out by the depart-
ment a four-column clip sheet on Avage-earning Avoman in
Avinning the Avar, a munition Avorkers' uniform release, and
one telling how Uncle Sam cares for the families of his
soldiers met with unusual response.

THE BUREAU OF CARTOONS.

The Bureau of Cartoons Avas officially established as a part
of the Committee on Public Information on May 28, 1918,
its purpose being to mobilize and direct the scattered cartoon
power of the country for constructive war work.

REPORT COMMITTEE OE* PUBLIC lOTORMATION. 77

The principal activity of the bureau was the weekly pub-
lication of the Bulletin for Cartoonists. Every week the
bureau obtained from all the chief departments of the Gov-
ernment the announcements which they particularly wanted
to transmit to the public, wrote them up in the Bulletin and
sent them out to over 750 cartoonists. As general sugges-
tions and advance news " tips " were published rather than
specific subjects for cartoons there was no danger of car-
toonists losing their individuality or originality. Cartoon-
ists all over the Nation followed out these suggestions. This
made for timeliness and unity of cartoon power, which de-
veloped into a stimulating and actively constructive force for
shaping public opinion and winning the war.

Eelations were established with 37 Government agencies,
which regularly furnished material for transmission to the
cartoonists.

The Bureau of Cartoons gave service in two ways :

1. By devoting issues of the Bulletin to giving special facts
and sidelights on the various campaigns.

2. By obtaining from cartoonists original cartoons to be
syndicated during the campaign.

Special numbers of the Bulletin have been published on
the September Draft, Liberty Loan, Merchant Marine, United
War Work Campaign, and the December Food Conserva-
tion Drive, etc. It has also secured cartoons for advance
publicity for some of these drives.

When original cartoons were received unrequested they
were turned over to the department interested. When asked
for original cartoons by Government departments, the bu-
reau transmitted the requests to a few of the many cartoonists
who had volunteered to supply drawings. Cartoons were
thus turned over to the Food Administration, the Fuel Ad-
ministration, the Boys' Working Reserve, the Women's Com-
mittee of the Council of National Defense, the Eeclamation
Service of the Interior Department, the Emergency Fleet
Corporation, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Red
Cross, etc. In several cases the Bureau of Cartoons sup-
plied rush orders for cartoons for special campaigns.

Mr. Alfred M. Saperston was the first manager of the
bureau. After he enlisted in August in Marine Aviation, the

78 EEPOET COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC INEOEMATIOlfr.

work of the bureau was conducted by Miss Gretchen Leicht.
Mr. George J, Heclit, who established the bureau, maintained
an unoiHcial supervision throughout its period of existence.

DIVISION OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT.

This division had custody of all funds of the committee and

the disbursing of the same. These comprised the Treasury
allotments and the special bank accounts authorized by Ex-
ecutive order for the handling of the financial affairs of such
divisions as are engaged in business enterprises. All dis-
bursements were subject to the approval of the directors of
divisions and the chairman of the committee.

The most approved methods of bookkeeping and auditing
were installed and monthly . reports of all financial trans-
actions were rendered to the chairman and to the directors
of divisions.

The purchase of furniture, supplies, and equipment, to-
gether with supervision of offices and custody of the property
of the committee, was a part of the duties of this division. It
also had charge of the reception and distribution of all
incoming and outgoing mail matter for the whole committee,
and the mimeographing, addressing, wrapping, and mailing
of all circulars, pamphlets, and publications of the several
divisions; the placing and delivering of orders for printing
and stationery, and it met the general requirements of the
committee for stenographic work and the handling and filing
of correspondence. The highest praise is deserved by Mr.
C. D. Lee, the business head of the committee.

DIVISION OF WORK WITH THE FOREIGN BORN.

N'othing is more true than that people do not live by
bread alone. The majority live on catch-phrases. For years
the average American has discharged his duty to the alien
by glib references to the " melting pot," with never a thought
to see whether the pot was really melting. Hopeful thou-
sands, coming to this land of promise with their hearts in
their hands, have been treated with every neglect and indif-
ference, and only in the most haphazard way have they
been brought into touch with the richer opportunities of
American life.

BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC mPORMATIOlS'. 79

When America went to war, however, these unregarded
millions took on a new importance, for our unity, our strik-
ing force, our front to the enemy, depended in large meas-
ure upon the attitude of Americans of foreign birth or
descent. Let it be stated at the very outset that this attitude
was indeed that " 100 per cent Americanism " of which
politicians talk, expressing itself from first to last in volun-
teering and every form of service and sacrifice. Harassed
by so-called " patriotic societies," instinct with the spirit of
Chauvinism, hounded by laws conceived in intolerance, and
witli their notable contributions to the common cause per-
mitted to go unnoticed, the foreign-language groups estab-
lished records of patriotism not outshone by those of native
stock.

The Committee on Public Information at the very outset
realized the importance of bringing the truths about the
war home to the foreign born of carrying straight to the
heart of every alien, enemy and neutral, the tremendous
idealism of America. We felt strongly that this work, if
attempted by the usual type of " Americanizers," would fail
just as it had always failed, and our effort was to find group
leaders able and willing to undertake this virtual evangeli-
zation, to develop " loyalty leagues " within the groups them-
selves that would discharge the task.

The first success was in the formation of the Friends of
German Democracy, a name derided at the time. Franz
Sigel, worthy son of a great father, accepted the presidency ;
Mr. Julius Koettgen became the secretary, and about them
they rallied such patriots as Euclolph Blankenburg, Dr.
Abraham Jacobi, Dr. Karl Mathie, Frederick Hoffman,
and many other true Americans of German descent.

Mr. Alexander Konta then organized tlie Hungarian-
American Loyalty League, and despite the attacks of those
who believed in "hate," he rallied his race to the banner
of America until the war record of the Hungarians stands
equal to any.

Mr. Edwin Bjorkman, the writer, was chosen to form the
John Ericsson League for work among the Swedish, and
when this was well under way, he drew to himself such men
as Judge Harry Olson, Dr. Max Henius, and Mr. Magnus

80 EEPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC mFORMATIOK.

Svenson, and instituted similar activities among the Norse
and Danish.

With respect to the other foreign language groups, close
relations were established with Paderewski, Dr. Masaryk,
the Serbian Legation, the Italian Embassy, and the Japanese
Embassy. As time went on, however, it was seen that more
direct methods were necessary, and in May, 1918, the Division
of Work Among the Foreign Born, Miss Josephine Roche,
in virtual charge of all these various activities from the first,
was made director of the new division, and it is to her faith,
vision, and rare devotions that the amazing results are due.
Under Miss Eoche, the Government f rankl}^ established direct
and continuous contact with 14 racial groups through the
f olloAving bureaus : The Italian, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Eus-
sian, Jugoslav, Czechoslovak, Polish, German (American
friends of German Democracy), Ukrainian, Danish, Swed-
ish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, and the Foreign Information
Service Bureau.

The report of Miss Eoche is such that I beg to submit it
as presented:

REPORT OE THE DIRECTOR.

Started as a war activity this division's purpose was
directed toward meeting certain long-existing needs which
war emergencies emphasized and forced into recognition. It
was not only that we had to meet and conquer the bitternesses
bred by years of neglect and even injustice, but there was
also the need of giving European countries an immediate
and convincing realization of America's aims and ideals in
the war. Bringing their former countrymen, now American
residents, into closer cooperation with this country's activities
meant that our message would reach these people abroad from
the source they most trusted.

Plan of Organization.

It was realized that the work could receive unreserved con-
fidence and support from the foreign born only if conducted
on a thoroughly democratic plan. Therefore, cooperation
and suggestions of their leaders of the foreign language press

EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 81

and organizations were sought. Representatives were ap-
pointed from the foreign language groups to act as managers
of the Foreign Language Bureaus of the division. They
were given the responsibility for the development of this
work among their people ; for sending them official informa-
tion in their language through their press, their organiza-
tions, and through wide correspondence and personal work ;
for endeavoring to rectify wrong conditions affecting the
foreign born; and for making available to the native born
important facts about their groups.

Fourth of July Demonstration.

The eagerness for real partnership and complete service
on the part of the foreign born in America was made evident
at the outset of the work of this division. The Fourth of
July demonstration, and events leading up to it, gave a
nation-wide and enduring vision of what these new Ameri-
cans feel and do for this country.

On May 21 the following petition asking that the Fourth
of July be specially recognized in 1918 as a day for the for-
eign born to demonstrate their loyalty to their adopted
country was presented to President Wilson by representa-
tives of all the foreign-language groups :

To the President of the United States:

On the Fourth of July, 1776, the founders of this Republic began the
movement for human liberty and the rights of nations to govern them-
selves. One hundred and , forty-two years later we find the world
democracy, of which this Nation was a pioneer, formidably assailed
by the powers of reaction and autocracy.

We represent these peoples whose sons and daughters came to this
land later than the founders of the Republic, but drawn by the same
ideals. The nations and races and peoples which we represent are
taking their part, in one way or another, in the struggle. Some, hap-
pily, enjoying a political entity, are fighting openly and with arms
against the enemies of progress. Others, unhappily, submerged, can
give but a passive opposition. Others have been forced against their
will into the armies of the common enemy. Finally, a few still remain
outside, hard pressed, threatened by the mailed fist, dreading alike to
be drawn in and to be found apart from the rest when the hour of
settlement comes. But all, through infinite suffering, struggle, either
blindly or open-eyed, toward the same end, the right of peoples to govern
themselves as they themselves see fit, and a just and lasting peace.
121033—20 6

82 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC IIsTEORMATION.

The higher interests of the races which we left hehind have be-
come identical, in this significant year, with the higher interests of
the United States. We regard ourselves not only as members of an
American commonwealth, one and indivisible, but of the world com-
monwealth, equally indivisible. United for the principles of that
democratic world-state which is fighting now for its being on the battle
fields of Europe, we intend, on July 4, 1918, to manifest, by special
celebrations, our loyalty to this country and to the cause for which we
fight ; and we respectfully request that you call attention of your fellow
citizens to this fact, in order that they may join with us in commemo-
rating this, the anniversary not only of national freedom, but of uni-
versal freedom.

From President Wilson came the sympathetic and favor-
able reply :

To our citizens of foreign extraction:

I have read with great sympathy the petition addressed to me by
your representative bodies regarding your proposed celebration of
Independence Day ; and I wish to convey to you, in reply, my heart-
felt appreciation for its expression of loyalty and good will. Nothing
in this war has been more gratifying than the manner in wliich our
foreign-born fellow 'citizens, and the sons and daughters of the foreign
born, have risen to this greatest of all national emergencies. You have
shown where you stand not only by your frequent professions of
loyalty to the cause for which we fight, but by your eager response
to calls to patriotic service, including the supreme sacrifice of offering
life itself in battle for justice, freedom, and democracy. Before such
devotion as you have shown all distinctions of race vanish; and we
feel ourselves citizens in a Republic of free spirits.

I, therefore, take pleasure in calling your petition, with my hearty
commendation, to the attention of all my fellow countrymen, and I
ask that they unite with you in making the Independence Day of this,
the year when all the principles to which we stand pledged are on
trial, the most significant in our national history.

As July 4, 1776, was the dawn of democracy for this Nation, let us
on July 4, 1918, celebrate the birth of a new and greater spirit of
democracy by whose influence we hope and believe, what the signers
of the Declaration of Independence dreamed of for themselves and
their fellow countrymen, shall be fulfilled for all mankind.

1 have asked the Committee on Public Information to cooperate
with you in any arrangements you may wish to make for this cele-
bration.

WooDEOw Wilson.

Following this pronouncement of President Wilson the
governors of the various States and mayors of cities issued
similar proclamations regarding the Fourth of July. As a

REPORT COMMITTEE ON" PUBLIC mFORMATIOlsT. 83

result of President Wilson calling upon the Committee on
Public Information to cooperate with the citizens of foreign
extraction in making arrangements for the Fourth of July,
this division of the committee, under the direction of Mr.
Will Irwin, was afforded a rare opportunity for intimate
acquaintance with these people.

The division bureaus reported on what their people did
throughout the entire United States. Similar material,
though not in such detail, was obtained for those groups for
which the committee had no bureaus through the generous
cooperation of their leaders, organizations, and newspapers.

Demonstrations of the 33 nationalities took place not only
in all the cities and towns, but in practically every community
where any of these people dwelt. For weeks prior to the day
their national and local organizations were working on plans
that would insure their peoples' complete participation in the
Fourth of July demonstration. No pains were spared to
make the day all they longed to have it. Probably never were
there such gigantic preparations throughout the entire coun-
try for Independence Day; and certainly neA^er was there
such an outpouring of the Nation's millions of new citizens
and citizens to be, as on July 4, 1918. Eeports of parades,
pageants, and mass meetings, resolutions, declarations, and
inscriptions on banners could be enumerated for ever^^
foreign-born group and for each separate community, but it
would only be a repetition of the story of their devotion.

The Mount Vernon Pilgrimage.

While Albanians, Armenians, Assyrians, Belgians, Bul-
garians, Chinese, Czecho- Slovaks, Costa Eicans, Danes,
Dutch, Ecuadorians, Finns, French, French-Canadians,
Germans, Greeks, Hungarians, Italians, Japanese, Lithua-
nians, Mexicans, Norwegians, Poles, Filipinos, Russians,
Venezuelans, Eoumanians, Spaniards, Jugo-Slavs, Swedes,
Swiss, Syrians, and Ukrainians were thus acclaiming America
as their country, representatives of each of these 33 groups, as
the guests of President Wilson, were making a pilgrimage
with him to the tomb of Washington. In response to Presi-
dent Wilson's Mount Vernon speech to this delegation, the
delegate present there for Americans of Belgian descent

84* REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

delivered the message bearing the signatures of all the 33
representatives and expressing the feelings of the great
masses of new Americans :

One hundred and forty-two years ago to-day a group of men ani-
mated with the same spirit as that of the man who lies here, founded
the United States of America on the theory of free government with
the consent of the governed. That was the beginning of America.
As the years went on, and one century blended with another, men and
women came from even the uttermost ends of the earth to join them.
We have called them alien ; but they were never alien. Though they
spoke not a word of the language of this country, though they groped
only dimly toward its institutions, they were already Americans in
soul or they would never have come. We are the latest manifesta-
tion of that American soul. . . .

We, who make this pilgrimage, are the offspring of 33 different
nations — and Americans all. We come not alone. Behind us are
millions of our people united to-day in pledging themselves to the
cause of this country and of the free nations with which she is
joined. From coast to coast, in city, town, and hamlet our citizens will
be demonstrating that the oath which they took upon their naturali-
zation was not an empty form of words. Yes, more than that.
When, to-morrow, the casualty list brings heaviness to some homes
and a firm sense of resolution to all, we shall read upon the roll of
honor Slavic names, Teutonic names, Latin names, Oriental names,
to show that we have sealed, our faith with the blood of our best
youth. To this beloved shade we come to-day with the hopes of our
races garnered in our hands.

Significance of the Day to the Native Boen.

Great as were the meaning and hope which the spirit of
1918's Fourth of July brought the foreign born, of equal im-
portance were the foundations it hiid for an understanding
by our "Americans for generations back " that these "Ameri-
cans by choice " came here with the same hopes as did our
pilgrim ancestors, and willing, as they were, to make the
supreme sacrifice for their nation's safe continuance, and
knowing, as they did, the cost of freedom.

In " The Solemn Declaration of the Czechoslovak People
to the Republic of the United States of America and its
Great President, Woodrow Wilson," the Czechoslovaks gave
fine expression of this spirit of America in the hearts of the
newcomers.

We came here from the land of suffering and oppression. It is on
this account that we hailed America like a rising sun after the dark
night of humiliation.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION". 85

We learned to love America for we are the sons of the land which
in the twilight of history was the first in* the world to rise and fight
the battle of democracy and self-determination of her people. We
are the sons of the land w^hich shone like a great beacon light of truth
and faith in the life of the fifteenth century. When the whole world
slept, we were awake.

We love this land — for the ideals of July 4, 1776, incorporated by
her great leaders into the law of life — and written indelibly into the
hearts of the nation by the blood and sacrifices of her sons; the
ideals of democracy which Lincoln set before his united country
cleansed of the stain of slaverjj^ ; these are the heritages of the glori-
ous past and present of the Czechoslovak people as well. In our
blood and in the beating of our hearts we bore the sacred law of
freedom, democracy, and brotherhood. This is our country. We are
and will remain to be true to her in laboring for her, true to her in
her struggle, in her sufferings, true to the grave.

What the Fourth revealed in the way of courageous herit-
ages and ideals among the recently arrived races in America
was brought out repeatedly in the ensuing work and relation
of this division and its bureaus with the foreign-speaking
groups.

A summary of the reports of the 14 foreign-language
bureaus follows :

Scandinavian Bureau.

The Scandinavian Bureau, under the direction of Mr. Ed-
win Bjorkman, included not only the Swedish, Norwegian,
and Danish but also the Finnish ; and later, by reason of Mr.
Bjorkman's knowledge and sympathy, he took over the work
among the Dutch. His first work was the formation of the
John Ericsson league for patriotic service among the Swedish
born in America. Other organizations, the Jacob A. Eiis
and the Lincoln Loyalty League, were afterwards formed to
do similar work among persons of Danish and Finnish de-
scent.

NEWS SEEVICE.

A major activity was the news service to the Scandinavian
press, and later to the Dutch and Finnish, through weekly
bulletins. For the five groups 998 articles, based on material
from Government departments, have been released. During
the draft many special releases were sent, and full explana-
tions made of the draft questionnaires. The majority of the

86 REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC IITEORMATIOIiT.

papers made extensive use of the articles, many using prac-
tically every one.

Swedish service. — This service, first in charge of Mr. Olaf
P. Zetlielius, and after his death in charge of Mr. H. Gude
Grinndal, sent out 309 releases to the Swedish language
press. Over two-thirds of the 50 papers printed very exten-
sively or to a fair degree these releases. No paper failed to
use some, and the use and appreciation of the material
steadily increased among the editors.

Norwegian service, — Similar cooperation came from the 40
Norwegian language newspapers in their use of the 257 re-
leases sent out by the manager of the Norwegian service, Mr.
H. Sundby-Hansen. Manj/- personal requests for information
through calls and correspondence were attended to.

Danish service. — Mr. Viggo C. Eberlin, in charge of the
Danish service, released to their 24 papers 212 articles, which
with few exceptions were given wide distribution.

Finnish service. — Mr. Charles H. Hirsimaki, in charge of
this service, sent out 107 articles to his 24 papers with very
gratifying results, considering the fact that three-fourths
of the Finnish papers are highly religious or devoted largely
to socialistic propaganda. Of the nine papers not using the
releases eight belong in these two groups.

Dutch service. — The Dutch service, under Mr. James J.
Van Pernis, sent 108 releases to 14 Dutch papers, and all but
2 of these made extensive and appreciative use of the ma-
terial.

Polish Bureau.

Until November, 1918, the work among the Poles was
done by Mr. John Wedda. Extensive contacts with local
and national Polish Committees were established, originally
in connection with the Fourth of July preparations. The
Polish press gave splendid publicity to these plans, and
proclamations on the subject were issued by the largest
organizations. Splendid work on the draft was also done;
full information was sent out through the organizations and
press, and on the Sunday before registration the Polish
clergy devoted their sermons to the subject of registration.

In November, 1919, the work was reorganized under the
direction of Miss K. Wanda Wojcieszak. A regular and ex-

REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC I^TFOBMATIOllT. 87

tensive press service was started. Since November the
bureau has sent out to the 56 Polish papers 159 releases giv-
ing Government information. Every paper used many of
these and most papers used the majority of them.

Numerous meetings have been attended. Trips made to 10
cities where there are the largest settlement of Polish people.
Conferences with their leaders, editors, and officers of or-
ganizations brought out a splendid point of view and desire
to cooperate with the bureau. Many letters asking informa-
tion of Government laws and material from Government
departments have been attended to.

As a result of demands following the publication of
releases based on material from the Surgeon General's Of-
fice, " Venereal Diseases and How to Prevent Them," a
pamphlet was issued using the material more extensively.
Fifteen thousand copies, given out only to organizations,
committees, and individuals asking for them, were immedi-
ately placed.

Help has been given Government departments in trans-
lating letters, in giving information desired on the Poles and
in explaining through personal efforts as well as news re-
leases Government laws and activities, such as the income
tax, the Federal Employment Service, and Department of
State rulings on passports.

Ukrainian Bueeau.

The Ukrainian Bureau has been under the direction of Mr.
Nicholas Ceglinsky.

Seventy-two articles on Government material were sent
out to the eight papers, all of which carried some of the
articles. Not a single paper used less than 25 per cent of the
material, most of them used 75 per cent; one paper used
every article.

Important conferences and conventions were attended by
the manager, and several thousand Ukrainians were reached
through the meetings addressed by him on his trips to six
of the largest Ukrainian centers.

Material regarding Ukrainians in America and Europe
has been furnished Government departments requesting it.
Much information and personal assistance has been given

88 EEPORT COMMITTEE OH PUBLIC INEORMATIOK.

to Ukrainians on Government laws and regulations. The
Bureau published to meet a general demand a pamphlet,
"America in War and Peace."

Lithuanian Bureau.

The Lithuanian Bureau started its work under the direc-
tion of Lieut. Mostowski and Mr. Julius Kaupas, the latter
assuming the management entirely in August, 1918.

An excellent press service on Government information re-
leased 149 articles to the 16 Lithuanian papers. Not a paper
failed to use the bureau's material, most of them printing
a majority of the articles.

The press among the Lithuanians was the most effective
and sure way of reaching all the people with the information.
"The Lithuanian press has played a more important part
in the lives of the Lithuanians than any other group of im-
migrants. The reasons are obvious. For over 40 years
Eussfa forbade the jprinting of anj^^thing in the Lithuanian
language, and, due to the hard fight for printed literature
in their own language, these people have held their press as
something almost sacred."

Besides the releasing of articles, close relations were main-
tained with leading organizations which sent out numerous
circular letters drawn up by this bureau enlisting the Lithua-
nians in War-Savings Stamps and the Liberty Loan cam-
paigns. Constant cooperation came from the Lithuanian
organizations. Letters to the various organization leaders
regarding the Fourth of July brought overwhelming re-
sponse from all Lithuanians throughout the country on that
day.

Practically all large conventions and mass meetings were
attended and information given on Government activities
and need for patriotic service, with splendid results. Lithua-
nian settlements in 25 cities and communities were visited
once or more. Eeports on Lithuanians here and in the old
country were furnished several Government departments.

Czechoslovak Bureau.

The Czechoslovak Bureau, under the management of Mrs.
Anna Tvrzicka, did extensive work in reaching all Czecho-

REPORT COMMITTEE OH PUBLIC INFORM ATIOl^. 89

Slovak organizations regarding the Fourth of July prepara-
tions. Many hundred telegrams were received telling of the
demonstrations held in every Czechoslovak community on
that day. Word even came from the boys in the Czecho-
slovak army in France of their celebration.

Czechoslovak newspapers number about 100 and reach
practically every Czechoslovak family in the United States.
To these papers 96 news releases were sent out, 40 papers
using every one of them and the balance giving an extensive
space. Particular attention was paid to releases on the draft
and income tax, some 15 articles being released on these two
subjects.

Considerable translation was done for various Government
departments, such as the Red Cross, the Fuel and Food Ad-
ministrations, etc. During the fourth Liberty loan a per-
sonal letter to the Czechoslovaks was written by Prof.
Masaryk, at the request of the bureau, which released it to
all the Czechoslovak papers. The bureau manager visited
the leading Czechoslovak communities and conferred with
their leaders, their editors, and their organization officers.

Geeman Bureau.

In October, 1917, the American Friends of German De-
mocracy was organized to aid in holding the German born
loyal to America and " to encourage the cause of democracy
by aiding the German nation to establish a government re-
sponsible to the people." This organization functioned as
the German Bureau of this division. Mr. Julius Koettgen
has acted as executive secretary of the organization and as
manager of the German Bureau from the first. Branches of
the American Friends of German Democracy carried on
local work in the 12 main . German- American centers.

The main work of the organization Avas done through the
press and through pamphlets. There was issued each week
a bulletin up to November, 1918, and after that weekly news
releases were sent out containing important Government in-
formation and specialized material on the war and condi-
tions in Europe which would have wide influence on persons
of German descent. Much German propaganda was over-
come in this way. Nearly 150 articles of this sort were sent

90 BEPORT COMMITTEE Ol^f PUBLIC UsTFOBMATIOlfr.

to the 200 most important German-language papers, to about
400 American papers reaching persons of German descent,
and to 200 special individuals. About 2,000,000 readers were
reached through these articles. A million copies of the fol-
lowing 20 pamphlets were distributed :

The Root of the Evil; Democracy, the Heritage of AU; German
Militarism and Its German Accusers ; The American Friends of Ger-
man Democracy ; The Spirit of America ; Lieber and Schurz, Two
Loyal Americans of German Birth ; A Call Issued by the Friends of
German Democracy ; No Qualified Americanism ; A Plea to German-
Americans for Unity of Purpose; What President Wilson Thinks of
the Friends of German Democracy ; On Americanism ; The Poison
Growth of Prussianism ; The Government of Germany; On Loyalty,
Liberty, and Democracy ; The Democratic Rising of the German People
in the Years 1848 and 1849 ; Germany's Confession ; Meine Londener
Mission, 1912-1914 ; America's War Aims and Peace Program ; Ameri-
kas Kriegsziele und Friendensprogramm ; Editions of Freie Zeitung,
of Berne, Switzerland.

Four organizers were in the field constantly until the first
of the 3^ear 1919 visiting the German- American colonies, ar-
ranging and addressing meetings and establishing close per-
sonal contacts. One organizer spoke at 50 meetings, reaching
32,000 people. In the draft. Liberty loan, and war savings
stamp campaigns and in all other war activities this organiza-
tion was one of the chief instruments for reaching those of
German descent.

An important achievement of the American Friends of
German Democracy was the sending of frequent letters and
appeals, which told the truth about America in the war, to
certain groups in Switzerland who were able to get many
of them into Germany, also the generous support given to
the Freie Zeitung, the German paper in Berne that preached
against Prussianism with such tremendous effect.

Trips by the bureau manager to communities having num-
bers of persons of German descent revealed many possibilities
for bringing a fuller understanding of America to these
groups. A spirit of cooperation was found among many of
the organizations and societies.

The German Bureau has collected valuable information
on the various German groups in this country, their organiza-
tion, their press, the methods by which German propaganda
made headway and the successful methods of overcoming it.

BEPOET COMMITTEE OH PUBLIC mFOBMATIOH. 91

Many reports have been furnished various Government de-
partments on matters pertaining to this group, and it can
be stated that the Bureau has a very thorough grasp on the
German- American situation as it exists at present.

Hungarian Bubeatj.

This bureau, under the management of Mr. Markus, re-
ceived whole-hearted support from the Hungarian language
press. From November, 1918, to April 15, 1919, 54 articles
based on Government material were released by the bureau
and published in practically all the 28 Hungarian papers
extensively.

As a result of many inquiries coming to the Hungarian
Bureau a pamphlet was compiled, "A Message to American
Hungarians," in Hungarian and English, containing much
practical and official information; 25,000 of these were dis-
tributed to organizations and individuals, employers, boards
of education, and libraries. All were given on request only.
An additional 10,000 copies had to be printed almost im-
mediately.

Several circular letters containing Government informa-
tion were sent to 500 or more organizations and societies.
Close contacts with these latter were also maintained through
two questionnaires sent out to learn of their activities and
information that they desired.

Besides the extensive dissemination of information on
Government activities through the press, the Hungarian
Bureau also aided the Labor Department by furnishing the
employment service with a complete list of Hungarian organi-
zations and societies in the United States and by making an
interesting study, through one of its questionnaires, of the
help Hungarians were receiving from the employment serv-
ice's local offices. The Liberty loan committees were sup-
plied with 25,000 names of Hungarians. For the Eed Cross
numerous letters were translated.

The manager of the bureau visited six important Hun-
garian communities and attended several mass meetings and
conferences.

92 REPORT COMMITTEE 0^ PUBLIC INFORM ATIOIT.

Italian Bureau.

The Italian Bureau was organized under the name of the
Eoman Legion of America in April, 1918, with Dr. Antonio
Stella as president and Dr. Albert C. Bonaschi as executive
secretary. After the armistice the name, " Eoman Legion,'-
was dropped and the organization's work was continued by
the Italian Bureau under the management of Dr. Bonaschi.
Divisions of the Eoman Legion of America were established
in every State and their members rendered splendid service
throughout the war period. Particular aid was given in all
Liberty loan and war-savings stamps campaigns, in patriotic
celebrations, in the distribution of official pamphlets, and in
rendering any service any Government department asked.
Much aid was given the authorities during the draft. Fol-
lowing the disbanding of the Eoman Legion of America its
members continued to give this same cooperation to the
Italian Bureau.

Four hundred and eighty-eight articles based on Govern-
ment material and on foreign information had been released
to the 256 Italian newspapers. Practically the entire Italian
population is reached through their press. Its unanimous
cooperation with the Italian Bureau therefore gained for
our material the widest possible attention. Every Italian
paper used the bureau's releases.

One trip covering all the large Italian centers was made
by the Italian Bureau's manager and the heartiest relations
with the various Italian organizations and leaders were
established.

For the month previous to registration a large part of the
bureau's activities were devoted to seeing that full informa-
tion reached every Italian on the provisions of the law.
Close connections were maintained with the Provost Marshal
General's Office and practically all their material was trans-
lated and released by the bureau.

Following the armistice the Italian Bureau cooperated with
the Internal Eevenue Department in not only releasing
numerous articles giving full explanation of the in,come tax
law, but also gave personal assistance to hundreds of cases
referred to it.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INPORMATIOK. 93
Russian Bubeau.

The Russian Bureau started its activities in JSTov.ember,
1918, under the management of Mr. Joseph Polonsky. Its
Avork has been carried on through its press releases; trips
by the manager and assistant to the principal Russian cen-
ters; cooperation with Russian societies; pamphlets; and
lectures.

The bureau has released 97 articles to the 19 Russian
papers. All but two have used these releases; an excellent
degree of support has come from all but these two.

Close contacts with Russian groups have been established
through the visits made on one or more occasions to the
chief Russian colonies.

Russian societies have assisted the bureau in giving much
information as to the kind of bureau activities most needed
and acceptable among Russian speaking people, and in help-
ing arrange for the three lecture tours made by Prof.
Galatsky and Dr. Krinkin.

These lectures were on " Abraham Lincoln and the Ameri-
can Democracy," " What we Russians can learn from
America," and the " League of Nations," and were followed
by most favorable results.

Pamphlets on Abraham Lincoln and the League of Na-
tions were published in response to requests, and 35,000
were distributed to organizations, societies, libraries, and
individuals. Many hearty endorsements of the pamphlets
and lectures have been received.

Besides giving wide circulation to the information from
the various Government departments, the bureau has given
much assistance to individuals, through letters and calls, on
matters such as the income tax, war risk insurance, and agri-
cultural and land reclamation matters.

The bureau has had a most difficult task owing to the
situation in Russia, and the many misunderstandings preva-
lent, but nevertheless it has steadily gained and its work has
been shown not only to be necessary but increasingly ap-
preciated.

JUGOSI.AV BtJKEATJ.

The Jugoslav Bureaui was organized with Mr. Peter Mladi-
neo in charge. Its work has been along the equally im-

94 REPORT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFORMATION.

portant lines of work with the press, with Jugoslav organi-
zations and societies, and through trips and meetings at-
tended by the manager.

Through the press work about 65 Government information
articles were released to 26 papers. All but 2 used extensively
the bureau's material. These releases all had to be written in
two languages — the Serbo-Croatian and Slovenian.

While the Jugoslav press influence is very important, it
does not reach the people so universally as that of other
groups.

Of equal importance, therefore, was the information sent
and relations maintained with the organizations and societies
which are exceedingly numerous and representative in their
membership.

Ten circulars were sent to about 2,500 societies, on such
important matters as the draft, income tax, and relief for
Jugoslavs in Europe.

Several trips by the manager were made to Jugoslav set-
tlements, including the very important ones in Texas and
Louisiana, Chicago and other points in Illinois, Kansas City,
St. Louis, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. The most helpful
understanding was thus established between all the Jugo-
slav groups^ and the bureau, and the latter was enabled to
learn what information and work were most necessary among
its people.

Considerable aid was given the JTugoslav relief j through
press notices and through personal counsel of the manager.

Much data has been filed by the manager on the Jugo-
slavs, their European history, their immigration to America,
and their present status here. Great help was given in the
draft hj seeing that all Jugoslavs were fully informed on
the questionnaires. The Internal Eevenue Department was
greatly assisted by the news releases sent the press and organi-
zations giving the provisions of the laAV, and, further, by the
numerous individual cases aided by the bureau. Translation
work was done for several Government departments.

The above summaries are no more than suggestions of the
work of the 14 bureaus. A full report is on file from each
one, together with detailed information on their newspapers.
A brief statement of the important aspects of the work as a
whole follows.

KEPORT COMMITTEE 01^ PUBLIC mPORMATIOI^". 95

Method. — ^Along its first general line of giving Govern-
ment information to the foreign born and cooperating with
Government departments, the division's activities fall under
the five heads of work through the foreign-language press;
work through the foreign-langniage organizations; field
work ; pamphlets. While the bureaus all had the same aim
for their work, and all employed certain similar methods,
each group presented problems entirely its own and de-
manded specialized attention. The press and the organiza-
tions, national and local, were the nucleus of the work of all
the bureaus. For some they assured a hearing for the bu-
reau's message among practically all the members of that
group. Chief among this class are the Italian, the Czecho-
slovak, and the Scandinavian groups.

These bureau managers devoted practically their efforts
to the press work and to circular letters to organizations,
although they established contacts with their people through
trips made to their largest colonies during the initial stages
of their work.

For other foreign-language groups, such as the Russian,
Polish, Jugoslav, and Ukrainian, the press alone was not a
sufficient means of contact. The publication of pamphlets
and considerable work through trips was therefore under-
taken by these bureau managers.

The Polish, Lithuanian, Hungarian, and Ukrainian Bu-
reaus did about an equal amount of their work through
press and organization contacts and through field work.

Press work, — For these 14 foreign language groups there
are approximately 865 foreign language newspapers. About
745 of this number are issued regularly and were received by
the bureaus. One-third of the remaining 150 not received
by the bureaus were published at very irregular intervals.

The news service was not started by five bureaus until
November, 1918. By these five bureaus, together with the
other nine, whose news releases started during the spring of
1918, there were sent out an approximate total of 2,318 news
releases to these 745 foreign language newspapers. Only 32
papers did not use the material, all but three of these being
small papers of a highly specialized character ; 96 per cent of
the papers availed themselves extensively of the material.
Very many papers used all but a few releases. It was a fre-

96 REPORT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC USTFORMATIOK.

quent occurrence to have foreign language papers come in
carrying on their front page two or three columns of the
bureaus' material. These 2,318 releases were based on ma-
terial from the following Government sources :

State Department (Bureau of Passport Control) ; Depart-
ments of War and Navy; Military Intelligence; Provost
Marshal General's Office; Department of Labor (United
States Employment Service, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Naturalization Bureau, Immigration Bureau) ; Fuel Admin-
istration; Food Administration; Treasury Department
(Internal Revenue, Public Health, Foreign Language Divi-
sion) ; Department of The Interior (Bureau of Mines, Rec-
lamation Service, Bureau of Education) ; Department of
Agriculture; Railroad Administration; Shipping Board;
War Trade Board; Department of Commerce; Council of
National Defense; Post Office; War Labor Policies Board;
Red Cross.

The Departments of Labor, War, Internal Revenue, and
Agriculture are those whose material was most extensively
used and most desired.

Work with organisations, — ^National and local organiza-
tions, fraternal, educational, religious, beneficial, and social
in type, are a powerful factor among the foreign speaking
groups. Their conventions bring together hundreds of dele-
ates from all the various centers of the foreign-language
groups, and their activities and influence are far-reaching.

The information on Government activities prepared in the
form of bulletins or circular letters by the bureaus and sent
these organizations was insured a complete hearing by their
members. Draft and registration circulars, regulations issued
by the Passport Control Division of the Department of State,
income-tax provisions, were carefully and thoroughly dis-
tributed by them. They also gave most valuable and sug-
gestive advice as to the needs and desires of their groups for
instruction and understanding.

Pamphlets, — While there was no need to issue pamphlets in
any large quantity becB;Use of the facilities offered us for
reaching foreign-language groups by their press organiza-
tions,' the following (in addition to the German pamphlets)
were printed as a result of a desire and need found to exist
for them and had a distribution of about 120,000 : "America

EEPOIIT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOlSr. 97

in War and Peace," in Ukrainian ; " Venereal Diseases and
How to Prevent Them," in Polish; "A Message to Aineri-
can-Hungarians," in Hnngarian ; " Abraham Lincoln," in
Russian ; " League of Nations," in Russian.

Field v)orh. — All bureau managers, either when initiating
the work or at frequent intervals during its continuance,
learned through personal conference the situation among
their groups and gained complete confidence from their peo-
ple in their work. A total of 124 trips was made to 53 dif-
ferent cities and towns, all but 10 of these being visited by
the majority of the managers.

The lectures arranged by the Russian Bureau as a re-
sult of the manager's trips proved so successful that one
of the largest Russian settlements wanted the lecturer to
come and live there. The following is quoted from the
letter extending him the invitation :

You have done very miicli for the Russian colony of the city

of . You even made our Bolshevicks think and speali about

education. I often think now tliat if we had in several

people like you, many of the Ilussian workmen ^Yould have been
saved from the Utopian Bolshevism, would not beli n e j^s idle promises,
and would learn to govern themselves indepentlently. Several of
our members were present at the lecture and all were very much
pleased and grateful to you. Our group has authorized me to ask

you to come to live in . You are a man of science, and we

have no educated people among us. You know that the mind of
the Ilussian workmen has been moved from its former standpoint;
it wants to go somewhere, but it does not know the way. If you,
the intelligent people, will not help It to find the way, other un-
scrupulous people will take advantage of the occasion.

The never-failing response to the bureaus' work and pur-
pose was the best proof of the attitude of the foreign-speak-
ing people toward it. Many other indorsements were given
in editorials and news columns and in letters to the bureaus.

What the work has revealed about the foreign-language
groups, — Of equal importance with this work of reaching the
foreign-speaking groups with information as described has
been what this work has revealed about these groups. The
war gave a chance for a dramatic and striking manifestation
of their services and loyalty to the country. After the
armistice their interest and devotion was just as great in

121033 — 20 7

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INl?ORMATION.

helping in the difficult transition and reconstruction prob-
lems. The same unreserved spirit with which they had en-
listed in the Army, and in the Liberty loan and war-savings
stamp campaigns, marked their efforts in peace, in encourag-
ing all their people to become citizens, to learn Euglish, to
carry out any suggestions coming from Government sources.
JS^umerous printing concerns have offered to print and dis-
tribute among their people books on American histor3^ civics,
and the Constitution. Editors of several groups have been
running serials on citizenship and wish to carry translations
of the best American stories in their papers. They have
asked us to suggest these and to get translation rights for
them.

While it is true that large numbers of these foreign-born
people are at the present moment returning to the old country,
it is the consensus of opinion among the best informed
among them that very few of them expect to remain, or in
going cease to consider America their home. It is a most
understandable desire to find out what has happened to their
families, their little property, after four years of w^ar suf-
ferings, and complete lack of communication with them.

A remark in the Czecho-Slovak manager's report, equally
applicable to the other groups, sums up the situation. She
had been talking with many editors and leaders among
Czecho-Slovaks, particularly on various Americanization
projects.

The reception was everywhere favorable, although some men felt
that they were asked to do what they have been doing all along.

Foreign Information Service. — To bring to the attention
of the j)ublic some of these significant facts we started in
August, 1918, the Foreign Information Service, directed
by Mr. Donald Breed, until November, and after that fey
Mr. Barett Clark. To quote from Mr. Clark's report :

It has been the policy of this service to encourage the foreign-
language groups of America by releasing stories teUing of their co-
operation with the Government in such matters as the Liberty loan,
the Red Cross, etc., and to assist the foreign-language press not only
in securing prompt and efficient cooperation with the Government
departments, but by informing the American people through the
native-language press of the work that had been done and was now
being done by the foreign-language press in helping the foreigner to
become a better American.

REPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 99

Over 50 such stories were released to 3,300 American
papers and from clippings kept until the first of the year
showed a wide and interested use. Typical among them are :
The Jugo-Slav Club," " Greek- American Boys Are Genu-
ine Patriots," " Lithuanians Support Fourth Liberty Loan,"
" The Czecho-S]ovaks in America," " Ukrainiaus in America
Eager for Education," and " Russian-Americans Aid Amer-
ica in Bond Sales." Fourteen News Bulletins," giving a
number of very brief accounts on the activities of the foreigTi
born, were also sent out.

The Foreign Information Service acted also as the chief
liaison between the Foreign Language Bureaus and the Gov-
ernment departments in getting the former the official infor-
mation for their releases and also for the individual cases
appealing to them. Also Mr. Clark had charge of transla-
tion rights for textbooks, stories, and plays for the foreign-
language groups.

G o operation icith Government departments. — In addition
to information service through press organizations, all bu-
reaus did considerable translating of letters and articles for
several Government departments and furnished them numer-
ous reports concerning their group. Among these depart-
ments are especially the Fuel and Food Administrations, De-
partments of War, Labor, Interior, Internal Revenue, and
Liberty loan committees.

Draft and registration worh. — Highly intensive as well as
extensive work was done in cooperation with the office of the
Provost Marshal General. All the bureaus released for clays
before registration the fullest and clearest instructions which
received columns of space daily in the press. Three enor-
mous packages of the clippings and marked copies of one
day's papers from the various bureaus were collected as an
exhibit. Provost Marshal General Crowder wrote us the
following letter in regard to the bureau's achievements:

I have already expressed to iMr. Creel my appreciation of the
invaluable work done by all members of his staff in contributing to
publicity on Registration Day. But I have an especial sentiment of
gratitude to yourself, because the task of reaching the foreign born,
who are unfamiliar with our language, seemed to me to be one of the
most difficult, an 1 perhaps beyond power of achievement.

100 REPORT COMMITTEE OJ^ PUBLIC USTFORMATIOK.

But as I read your report of tlie metlK^cls employed, I am convinced
that tlie task was fully accomplished, Tlie daily arrivals of news-
papers in foreign languag-es show Iiovn'' V\ido,spread are the ramifica-
tions of influence of your office, and have revealed to me what a
powerful and elfective agency the Government possesses. Your tact,
energy, and ingenuity in utilizing this agency to its fullest, command
my admiration, and I offer my personal thanks.

Income-tax work, — Far more exhaustive was the work
done in cooperation with the Internal Eevenue Department
in exphiining and helping work out the provisions of the
revenue bill affecting aliens. A most critical situation was
created among the foreign-speaking people by the law's fail-
ure to sufncientl}^ define the terms resident " and non-
resident " aliens, and by its provision that employers shall
withhold 8 per cent from the wages of their nonresident em-
ployees, their total tax being 12 per cent as against the 0
per cent paid by citizens and resident aliens. The matter
came to the attention of our bureau managers through let-
ters and personal appeals from their people all over the
country. Altogether nearly 3,000 of these appeals came in,
showing a state of complete bewilderment and wretchedness.

It is almost impossible to choose from among these letters
the most representativ^e as all give a vivid picture of the con-
ditions, but the following four from different language
groups will give some idea of the situation :

Gentlemen : Please send me information as to income tax. How
foreigners have to pay * * * to whom.

The people that belong to my parish have paid more than they
should— many married men who did not make to $2,000 paid income
tax more than $35.

Please let me know to whom I am to appeal,
yours,

Russian Bueeau : I, , beg the Russian Bureau to help me.

The Russian immigrants are not able to pay the war (probably in-
come) taxes. Some time ago I read in the papers that only those who
earned more than $1,000 a year have to pay the tax and only on what
they earned over $1,000; and I have paid $12.07. But now in the
: factory they withhold more, and tell that I myself must pay $145 for
last year, and if I have to pay for this year also, I will have to pay
more than $300. And so I have to work, but do not get money to live
on. And please explain me why they force us to take the American

EEPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION, lOl

papers. Those who do not want to take the papers are put out of
work. And if I take the pape^rs will I be able to go back to Russia?
And why did they put the Russian people in such helpless position?
They do not allow us to return to Russia, and here it is now impossible
to live.

And I beg the Russian Bureau to answer to my praj^er, and to tell
me what is going to become of the Russian immigrants.

Dear Sir : Allow me to ask your advice concerning the income tax.

I am working for the , Pittsburgh, Pa. The company witliholds

the tax from the wages. In 1918 I earned $920. I paid $18.40 income
tax. That means two cents for each dollar. Now they make me pay
10 per cent more for 1918 — that means 12 per cent altogether, and
more over 8 per cent for 1919, and do not give any receipts. I can
not understand how it is. There is nobody here who could explain it
to me, for I do not speak English. I believe whatever anybody tells
me and I pay.

Of course, I am willing to pay according to the law, because I know
that the Government needs the tax, but I am afraid of being mislead
too often. I am a poor man, married, and have five children in Europe.
So please let me know whether I have paid right. Answer soon.
Respectfully, yours,

Gentlemen : I wisli to send my complaint against the in

St. Joseph, Mo. I am a poor man, and working very hard for my living.
I do not know who is wronging me, either United States Government
or the company. In the ofhce they asked me whether I will go back to
Europe ; I answered yes. Then they told me that I have to pay the
tax. I asked them what kind of a tax? For the year 1918. I said,
ail right, how much I have to pay? $25, they told me. I said, never
mind ! Then they withhold my one week and half wages. I thought
that I would get the third week pay, so I could pay to the grocer and
the storekeeper. But nevertheless they withheld the third pay. I was
supposed to get $19.58, and they gave me only $3.80. What will I do ;
poor unfortunate man? I went to the superintendent and asked him
for receipt. He refused. Now, whom shall I ask for it? I asked
him whether I will get full pay for the fourth week? He said, no!
To tell you the truth, I cried after I left the office. I really do not
know how I can make a living.

Please accept my request, and help me in my grievance. Is it the
same proceeding for everybody, or only for me? Does America allow
the companies to exploit the poor people in such way ?
Respectfully, yours.

Extensive overpajaiient of the income tax was shown in
these complaints. Kesident aliens were denied their exemp-
tion rights by being wrongly classed as nonresidents; and
nonresident aliens legally allowed certain exemptions did not

102 REPORT COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC II^FORMATIOl^".

receive them. Instead of withholding the tax on each pay-
da}', many employers were taking it in a lump sum, fre-
quently amounting to an entire week's wages, or more. Many

aliens in the resident class were being considered nonresidents
because of their refusal to sign a " blue slip " stating inten-
tion of residence (see attached Form 1078 A) , which they be-
lieved meant they could never go back to Europe for a A^isit,
and vras some sort of an enforced citizenship paper. An
additional grievance was that receipts for wages thus with-
held were rarely given.

In attempting to alleviate the various grave injustices thus
]'esulting, the Internal Bevenue Department in Washington
showed most unusual sympathy/ and breadth of vision. Treas-
ury decisions were extensiveh^ revised and ixnj number of
regulations drawn up Avith the intent of bettering matters.
Form 1078 A, certificate of resideiice, Avas changed to Form
1078 B, Avhich Avas a material improA^ement. Each of our
bureaus released from 10 to 20 explanatoiy articles and gaA^e
their attention and answers to all tlie indiA^idual inquiries.

HoAVCA^er, fcAv employers haA^e been informed throughly on
the regulations and the situation is far from satisfactory. In
our opinion it neA^er can be as long as employers are made
Avithholding agents. A complete report on the income tax as
it has affected our groups Avith an analysis and translations of
typical letters of complaints and with our suggestions is being
submitted to the Cojnmissioner of Internal RcA^enue.

More detailed information on all aspects of the work, rec-
ords of neAvspapers, clippings, and special bureau reports are
on file.

For years national unity and progress have demanded the
release of the neglected potentialities of our millions of ncAv
Americans into a fuller participation in our country's life.
For this there is necessary a mutual process of education of
native and foreign born. Full information on American life,
opportunities, customs, and laAvs must reach the men and
Avomen coming here from foreign lands immediately upon
their arrival. Necessarily it must be in their oAvn language.
The more they learn in this Avay of our fundamental de-
mocrac}^ and the possibilities for them and their children in
this country, the keener becomes their desire and efforts to
learn "xVmerica's language." To Avithhold this information

BEPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 103

or delay it until ^ according to theoretic calculation, thevse
immigTants have had time to acquire English, is to delib-
erately create a period of cruel beAvilderment and false im-
pressions for them which dampens whatever enthusiasm they
had originally to study English. The numerous un-Ameri-
can conditions and injustices to which so many immigrants"
have fallen victims must be wiped out. Explanations and
instruction about America given to the fullest extent carry
little weight when individuals have been wronged.

The ignorance of many native-born Americans about Euro-
pean peoples and their contemptuous attitude toward per-
sons with different customs from their own are just as serious
obstacles to assimilation and unity as the tendency of some
immigrants to cling to Old World ways ; understanding must
come, on our part, of the heritages of these newcomers, their
suffering and struggles in Europe, and the contributions they
bring us if we will only receive them.

GUARDING America's reputation abroad.

By action of Congress motion-picture film could not be
exported except under license from the War Trade Board.
This provision was used by the Committee on Public In-
formation of getting helpful pictures into foreign countries
even while keeping out the hurtful kind. By courtesy of
the War Trade Board all applications for export licenses
were referred to the committee and were granted or refused
as the report was favorable or unfavorable.

What we wanted to get into foreign countries were pic-
tures that presented the wholesome life of America, giving
fair ideas of our people and our iustitutions. What we
wanted to keep out of w^orld circulation were the " thrillers "
that gave entirely false impressions of American life and
morals. Film dramas portraying the exploits of " Gyp the
Blood," or reproducing the lawless life of the old western
frontier, were bound to prejudice our fight for the good
opinion of neutral nations.

Offices were opened in New York and when applications
for export licenses were made the pictures themselves were
examined by competent committees in which the Army, the
Navy, and the customs were equally represented. As the

104 REPORT COMMITTEE OJST PUBLIC INFORMATIO^SJ".

motion-picture industry commenced to understand our pur-
pose and realized that we stood ready to expedite all proper
licenses, as well as to make the fight lor shipping space, the
cooperation became enthusiastic. Kot only was it the case
that all harmful film was barred from export, but producers
became more and more willing to incorporate a large per-
centage of " educational pictures " in their shipments. " Edu-
cational " in our sense of the word meant film that showed
our schools, our industrial life, our war preparations, our
natural resources, and our social progress.

The spirit of cooperation reduced the element of friction
to a minimum. Oftentimes it was the case that a picture
could be made helpful b}^ a change in title, or the elimina-
tion of a scene, and. in no instance did a producer fail to
make the alterations suggested. During its existence, ac-
cording to the report of Lieut. John Tuerk, loaned to the
committee by the Army, over 8,000 motion pictures were
reviewed, the greater percentage of which went forward
into foreign countries with the true message from America.
The Secrete r}^ of War has been informed of the splendid
service rendered by Lieut. Tuerk in the conduct of this im-
joortnnt division.

SITOWTXG AMERIOA TO THE FOREIGI^^ PRESS.

In many respects, one of the most effective ideas of the
Committee on Public Information was the bringing to the
United States, from time to time, of delegations of foreign
newspaper men in order that fhej might " see with their own
eyes, hear Avith their own ears," and upon their return be able
to report fully on America's morale and effort.

Mr. Eobert H. Murray, our commissioner in Mexico, as-
sembled the first of these visitors, inviting representatives of
the following papers: El Universal, El Excelsior, El Na-
cional, A. B. C, El Economista, El Eevistas de Eevistas, all
of Mexico City ; El Dictamen, Vera Cruz ; La Prensa, Puebla ;
El Informador, Saltillo; El Liberal, Saltillo; El Progresso,
El Liberal, and Nuevo Patria, all of Monterey; La Prensa,
Tampico.

Lieut. P. S. O'Reilly, borrowed from the Cable Censorship
by reason of a long association with Spanish-speaking peo-

EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 105

pies, took the party in charge for the committee, and a tour
was arranged that covered the United States.

Their itinerary included the foUoAving cities and points of
interest : New Orleans, La. ; Atlanta, Ga. ; Washington, D. C,
where the delegation was received and addressed by President
Wilson and where the Pan American Bureau entertained it and
the Mexicans were afforded an opportunity'^ of seeing many
governmental works; Annapolis, Md., for inspection of the
United States Naval Academy ; Camp Meade, Md., for inspec-
tion of a t3q3ical United States cantonment ; Philadelphia, Pa.,
for view of the Hog Island Shipbuilding Yard ; South Bethle-
hem, Pa., for inspection of the Bethlehem Steel Works; New
York City, for inspection of the United States Military Acad-
emy, at West Point, and numerous war factories in and
around New York; Boston, Mass., for inspection of ship-
building plants; Schenectady, N. Y., for inspection of the
plant of the General Electric Co. ; Buffalo, N. Y., for inspec-
tion of the Curtiss Aviation Co. ; Detroit, Mich., for view of
various plants making Liberty motors and planes; Chicago,
111., for view of various steel plants, packing houses, etc. ; St.
Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., for study of the milling cen-
ters; Yakima, Wash., for a view of a United States reclama-
tion project; Seattle, Wash., for study of west coast ship-
building; Portland, Greg., for study of west coast shipbuild-
ing, and San F rancisco for the same purpose ; Los Angeles ;
and back to Mexico via San Antonio and Laredo.

Chambers of commerce, boards of trade, various other civic
and business organizations and business firms and individuals
throughout the country aided splendidly in making the Mexi-
cans feel at home and in impressing them with the good Avill
and friendship Avhich the people of the United States felt for
the people south of the Eio Grande. Many business firms and
individuals entertained these Mexican guests of the American
Nation and contributed not a little to making them, on their re-
turn to their native country, enthusiastic " boosters " for the
United States. The speech which President Wilson made to
the delegation in W^ashihgton — and which was distributed
throughout Central and South America b}^ the Foreign Press
Cable Service — was a very effective weapon against the sort
of German propaganda then being spread over Latin-
America.

106 EEPORT COMMITTEE OlSf PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Six of the most distinguished journalists of Switzerland,
invited by Mrs. Whitehouse, and their acceptances approved
by the Swiss Government, were received and toured in the
same manner. Likewise a delegation of the leading news-
paper men of Italy, and also the leaders of the Scandinavian
press. Other visits, under way, had to be canceled by reason
of the armistice.

There can be no question as to the signal success of these
visits, for the effect of them was instant and lasting. The
very fact that we were willing to let our war progress be
seen and judged was impressive at the outset; the visitors,
while in the United States, sent daily and enthusiastic letters,
supplemented by cobles, and upon their return, each wrote
pages, while many even gave a series of lectures on the Ameri-
can effort. Particularly was this true in the case of the
Swiss.

In line Avith this policy the foreign correspondents on duty
in the United States, having been formed into an association,
were taken over the United States as guests of the Committee
on Piiblic Information, and given unusual privileges of ob-
servation. Our first effort was to answer the German lie that
America's shipl)uilding was a " bluff."

Permission for the unprecedented step of showing the
secret processes of certain American shipbuilding yards was
finally obtained from the Government departments con-
cerned, and £\]bout 20 foreign journalists were taken on a tour
which embraced, the yards of the New York Shipbuilding-
Co., at Camden, N. J. ; the American International plant,
at Hog Island, Pa.; the Squantum and Quincy plants of
the Fore River Shipbuilding Co., outside of Boston, Mass, ;
the Brooklyn Mavy Yard, and the Newark plant of the Sub-
marine Boat Corporation. Each correspondent Avho made
the trip was under no pledge as to the character of the matter
he was to write, and the only pledges asked were with respect
to certain secrets of construction.

Judging from the publicit}/^ to the American shipbuilding
program which resulted, the trip was an immense success.
All of the foreign correspondents were more than anxious to
present America's viewpoint and more than enthusiastic over
America's accomplishments. Matter written by these cor-
respondents was published all over England, France, Italy,

BEPORT COMMITTEE GIST PUBLIC lifFORMATION. 107

find South America, and reproduced in countries still more
distant.

Xecessary permission having been secured, the foreign
correspondents ^Yere next sent on a tour of tlie Middle West
to stud}^ aviation progress. At Detroit the plant of the
Packard Motor Co. — engj:\ged in making Liberty motors—
Avas thoroughly inspected, the first time that such a permis-
sion had been granted. The Army authorities, thoroughly
awake to the propaganda value of the plan, relaxed their
stem rule against civilians and granted the correspondents
fullest freedom at the special testing field outside of Detroit.
The plant of Henry Ford, making cylinders for the Liberty
motors, was inspected.

The correspondents then traveled to Chiciigo. They were
greatly interested in the Great Lakes Naval Training Sta-
tion, where America's neAv Navy was partly in the making.
They were made to realize something of the gigantic responsi-
bilities which the United States had shouldered in its self-
assumed task of feeding the world by a detailed view of the
Union Stock Yards and the great packing plants of Chicago.
One day was also spent in investigating the making of muni-
tions at the plant of the International Harvester Co. An-
other day was spent visiting the great war plant of the Eock
Island Arsenal.

The third trip undertaken was in response to earnest pleas
from the correspondents that they be permitted to visit
briefly with President Wilson himself. The President con-
sented to receive the correspondents at the White House, and
in a remarkable interview, laid bare his own thought as well
as his conception of the ideals of America. The corre-
spondents Avere then taken to Old Point Comfort where they
saw the plant of the Newport News Shipbuilding Co., in-
spected the heavy artillery school at Fortress Monroe, saw
the training of naval aviators at Langley Field, Hampton
Eoads, and the vast embarkation works in and around that
harbor.

The fourth trip was a corollary to the Detroit- Chicago-
Eock Island inspection. It was designed to show the corre-
spondents certain American aviation plants in operation.
The correspondents were taken to Dayton, where they went
over the plant of the Dayton-Wright Co., and as many as

108 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIOI^.

desired were afforded the opportunity of going aloft in k
Libert}^ plane. The some inspection and the same oppor-
tunity was afforded them at Buffalo, where thej^ went through
the great plant of the Curtiss Co.

lliese trips were of incalculable value in American propa-
ganda work. The articles were written on the basis of what
had been seen by the eyes of foreigners with the individual
correspondent's own. realization of the facts which would
most appeal to his own i*eading public. It should be added
that Mr. Verrj Arnold, vdio conducted these correspondents
on each trip, himself prepared numerous articles covering
what had been seen which Avere extensiAelj^ circulated in
Europe and South America.

The newspaper men of Spain, some from the Scandinavian
countries, from England and from Holland, were also taken
to the firing line in France b}^ representatives of the Com-
mittee on Public Information, and as in the case of the
American tours, the results were remarkably good.

PART XL

Work of the Foreign Section of the Committee on Public
Information.

As chairman of the committee, keenly aware that many of
its activities were new and even alien to the American proc-
ess, I exercised personal direction of all foreign work until
January, 1918, when Mr. Will Irwin, returning from Europe,
volunteered his services to the national cause. He was made
director of the Foreign Section, discharging the duties with
devotion and rare intelligence, and upon Mr. Irwin's resig-
nation after carrjung through the great Fourth of July cele-
bration, Mr. Edgar Sisson, back from Russia, was given the
post, bringing to the work the same organizing genius that
marked his conduct of the Russian mission.

The Foreign Section had three divisions: The Wii'cless
and Cable Service; the Mail Feature Service; Motion Pic-
tures. In each capital, in neutral and friendly belligerent
countries, a tally manned ollice Avas maintained for the dis-
tribution of news and articles and film, for the handling of
speakers, arrangement of window displays, and the general
spread of the truth abont America b,y cA'ery possil)le means.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 109

WIRELESS AND CABLE SERVICE.

" COMPUB,"asits cable code address, has come to advertise
it throughout the world, was organized in September, 1917, to
meet a pressing need. Enemy propaganda, always exceed-
ingly active, concentrated almost immediately upon America
when we entered the war, seeking clearly and persistently to
attribute selfish motives to us or persistently belittling the
war effort w^hich America might hope to make.

The United States, alone of the great nations of the world,
had never conducted a propaganda movement. For years
preceding the war Germany had been secretly building a
vast publicity machine in every corner of the earth, designed
to overwhelm all foreign peoples with pictures of Germany's
vast power, her overwhelming preeminence in industry, com-
merce, and the arts. German agents, carefully selected from
among her joui-nalists and authors, neglected no opportu-
nities for presenting Germany's case to readers of every
language. Her commercial firms linked a propaganda of
liberal credits with this newspaper campaign throughout the
world.

Great Britain, through Reuters, likewise conducted a gov-
ernmental propaganda. France had official connection with
the Havas agency. Both England and France, through
ownership or liberal subsidy of certain great cable arteries,
could direct currents of public opinion in channels fa\7^or-
able to themselves. Other nations had publicity machines
of varying types.

America controlled no cables; manipulated no press asso-
ciations; operated no propaganda machinery of any type.
America was therefore an easy target for the perfected ma-
chinery of the German propaganda system. Even the news
which Avas sent day by day from America was for the greater
part by far transmitted over cables controlled by for-
eign governments; more than that, it was almost entirely
written and prepared by foreigners. True, these writers
were at the time of America's entrance into the war, in-
tensely sympathetic, but not fully acquainted with America
or the Americans. Even the firmest friends of America
could not know the nation's heart and soul as a native Ameri-
can could. Germany herself, with all her expensive propa-

110 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATION.

gancla organization in the United 8tates from 1914 to 1917^
did not read the heart of America aright. But that German
publicity organization, with customary German thorough-
ness, devoted nnich time during its stay in the United States
to mapping out future campaigns in which the United States
should be attacked by that most insidious weapon of modern
warfare — the press of the world. How to meet the attack
presented many problems.

The cables, practically all foreign owned, wxre at that
time so clogged as to endanger CA^en vital war business with
their delays. The mail w^as uncertain. Moreover the need
was for day by day fresh news. In this emergency, Secre-
tary Daniels placed at the disposal of the committee the
wireless stations of the United States, all under control of
the Navy Department.

Mr. Walter S. Rogers, of Chicago, for years a close student
of communication problems, was selected to be of the service,
and Mr. Perr^^ Arnold, cable editor of the United Press, was
secured to serve as his associate. From the first it was deter-
mined that our service should be news^ not biased viewpoint
articles or arguments.

Through the active cooperation of Capt. D. W. Todd, Chief
of the Naval Communications Service, arrangements were
effected whereby the Navy undertook the sending of a lim-
ited amount of daily matter, and our first service was from
Tuckerton to the wireless station of the French Government
at Lyons. The French governmental authorities entered
heartily into our plans, as did the great French press asso-
ciations — the Agence Havas and the Agence Kadio. After
translation and distribution to the press of France the Paris
office relayed the American matter to the committee's repre-
sentatives in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and other
near-by nations.

The next step in the Avorld dissemination of news came
through arrangements heartily entered into by the British
Government. The same wireless report sent to Lyons was
intercepted by American Navy operators at the American
naval base, and relayed to London, where the representatives
of the committee received it, and distributed it to the Englisli
press.

REPORT COMMITTEE OjST PUBLIC INEORMATIOIST. Ill

Following the establishment of offices in Paris and London
representatives were sent to open American publicity centers
in Rome, Madrid, Berne, Petrograd, Moscoav, The Hague,
Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Christiania.

South America had long been a fertile field for German
propaganda, and through the courtesy of the Navy Censor-
ship, Lieut. F. E. Ackerman, a journalist of wide experience,
was sent on a tour of South America to study methods of
news distribution, to organize Compub offices, and generally
plan to get America's story before our Pan American friends.
He visited Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, lima,
Valparaiso, Buenos Aires, and numerous other South Ameri-
can cities. Offices were opened at all focal points ; and, with
the hearty cooperation of American diplomatic and consular
officials, soon had an intensive publicity campaign on through-
out South America.

Another agent of the division, Mr. J. E. McConaughey,
was^ent to Central America. He performed a similar work
of organization in that section. Mr. John Collins was " bor-
rowed " from the Panama Canal Board, and organized an
office in Panama City for the relay of dispatches from New
York to Central American points. The Naval Communica-
tions Office instituted a special sending circuit to Darieii,
Panama, to take care of a special service, which Avas turned
over to Mr. Collins, translated and relayed by him to many
cities in Central America, where no other news was received
from any source.

The trans-Pacific work had by this time so increased that
organization of an office in San Francisco for preparation of
propaganda matter was imperative. Mr. W. B. Clausen
was " loaned " to the division by the Associated Press. He
began the preparation of a report averaging 500 words daily,
which was transmitted by the Navy wireless from San Fran-
cisco to Pearl Harbor (Plonolulu, Hawaii) , thence relayed by
Navy wdreless to Manila, P. I., and intercepted at Guam by
the Navy wireless system there. At Guam this report was
sent by cable north and south — north into Japan and south
into China. At China the matter was received by Mr. Carl
Crow, a Compub ag'ent, and by him distributed through a
specially organized Chinese- American news service. Mr,

112 KEPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INEORMATIOlSr,

Crow also relayed matter to American soldiers in Siberia. In
Japan the matter was received by both the Kokusai and the
Mppon Dempo agencies and used by them as they saw fit.

As the importance of the work became apparent and its
results showed, the service increased its output. The regular
Avireless " report " was increased in size, the Navy's splendid
efficiency in radio transmission permitting this expansion.
Utilization was also made of the cables. Where some impor-
tant official statement was released and publication desired
abroad, this division, with the cooperation of the Foreign
Press Association and correspondents, sent such statements
for simultaneous delivery and release.

DISSEMINATION OF PRESIDENT WILSOn's SPEECHES.

Early in its history the committee recognized the impor-
tance of distribution throughout the world of the speeches and
message to Congress of President Wilson. The President
of the United States was looked upon as the spokesman for
the Allies. It was he who sounded the keynote of America's
policy in the war. All foreign newspaper correspondents in
the United States had ahvays regarded the utterances of the
President as most important. But because of the congestion
on the cables, no less than the enormous expense of cable tolls,
it was difficult to expect that President Wilson's messages
and speeches would be printed in full in European news-
papers. Not only this, but it was found that the crafty
German propaganda machine had no scruples in issuing false
translations of speeches by President Wilson nor suppressing
great sections and circulating the incorrect text, not alone in
Germany but in neutral nations.

This division therefore undertook the Avork of distributing
these keynote speeches textually, at first to England, France,
Italy, and Russia, then, in response to a demand, to the
four quarters of the civilized globe.

The Foreign Press-Cable Service could not have under-
taken this vast work except by the heartiest and fullest
cooperation of the great Avorld press agencies. The Foreign
Press Division paid the cable and telegraph tolls on the
speeches and messages, plus a small overhead charge, which
only partially covered the immense expenditure of time and

REPORT COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 113

energy in the distribution. Tiie great Agence Ilavas and
Agence Radio were equally helpful. So was the Maison de
la Presse, the official French Government propaganda agency.
Renter's aided in handling messages to the Pacific and the
Orient. The American press associations, the Associated
Press and United Press, together with the >H.gence Havas,
aided in distribution in South America.

The following outline of how these speeches or messages
of President Wilson were circulated throughout the world
will illustrate how thorough a scheme of distribution w^as
eventually devised :

England. — Message sent (in one sending) with multiple address to
lieuter's, Exchange Telegraph, Central News (all three being the
principal British news services), and to Compiib (the code address
of this division in London). Distributed throughout England, Scot-
land, Ireland, and Wales by these news agencies.

France. — Message sent (in one sending) with multiple address to
Agence Havas, Agence Radio, Maison de la Presse, and Compub. Dis-
tributed by these agencies to the whole of the French press, trans-
lation being made by each service.

Italy. — Served through the Italian press associations and Compub
in Rome, the Italian associations receiving text from the French
associations with w^hich thej^ had arrangements for interchange of
new^s.

Spain. — Served through Spanish press associations and Compub
in Madrid by cooperation of the French news agencies which dealt
with branches in Spain and likewise through agents of the French
propaganda service.

Btvitzerlancl. — Served by telephone from Paris to Compub offices in
Berne, where a representatiA^e of the Committee on Public Informa-
tion had effected arrangements with several Swiss news agencies.

Holland. — Served through Reuter*s agency and Gompub's offices in
The Hague.

Scandinavia. — Served through Renter's subsidiary agencies and by
Compub representatives in Stockholm, Ghristiania, and Copenhagen,
and also through cooperation of American diplomatic and consular
rep resent a tives.

Russia. — Served through Compub representative in Archangel by
cooperation of the British Government controlling the cable from
England to Russia.

Australasia. — Served through the Australian Press Association and
branches of Renter's throughout Australia, New Zealand, and other
South Sea Islands.

Japan. — Served through the Kokusai News Agency (a subsidiary
of Renter's) and the Nippon Dempo, an independent news agency.
121033—20 8

114 EEPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC lOTOEMATIOlsr.

(Jhinci. — Served tlirough Shangiiai and Pelvin through cooperation
ot Kenter's and with assistance from a Compub representative in
Shanghai.

kiibcria. — Served by relaj'^ tliroiigh Vladivostoli from Conipub's rep-
I'esentative in Shangliai and also hy wireless intercepted at Vhidi-
vostok and Omslv by- Compub offices.

Sovth America. — Served tlirough cooperation of American diplo-
matic and consular officials, Gompnb's own representatives at Rio de
Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Lima, and Santiago de Chile, and the Agence
ila^'as, tlie Associated Press, and the United Press.

Central 'Auicrica. — Served through special arrangements with the
Central and South American Cable Co., which handled drop '*
copies of all messages to scores of stations on both coasts, which were
distributed through cooperation of American diplomatic and consular
agents. The Compub Division also maintained an office at Panama,
which aided in such distribution.

Mexico. — Conipub's own representative at Mexico City handled all
such messages, aided by cooperation of the United Press.

India — Served through branches of lleuter's Agency.

(:^out}i Africa. — Served through brandies of Renter's Agency.

Greece. — St^rv(Hl through the Fi-ench Government's cooperation by
delivery of matter to Salonika.

Egypt. — Served through Renter's Agency.

Miscellaneous. — Practically all messages were " broadcasted " from
all American wireless stations of the United States Naval Connnunica-
tlons Service for inrormation of slui)s at sea and for interception by
\^'hatever stations desired to listen in.

Canadi.nn press associations carried all presidential speeches, through
their relationship with American press associations.

Liberia recei^•ed all speeclies and messages by mail from the nearest
point.

Teheran, Persia, got all such matter textually from Aden.

Special effort -wiia made by Compub's representatives in Switzer-
land and Plolland to secure publication of all such documents in news-
papers which It v>'^as known circulated extensively in Germany.

ENEMY FEOPAGANDA STUDIED.

Throughout itvS histo^\^ Compub, through cooperation with
the Arniy and Navy intelligence offices, kept in the closest
possible touch with the trend of enemy propaganda. Its
agents abroad reported on conditions frequently and in the
XcAY York office certain employees were detailed regularly to
read and analyze all German propaganda material received
here — a great joart of it being wireless matter sent by the
great German wireless station at ¥auen and intercepted by
the I hiited States Navy Communications station.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIOIST. 115

B}^ a cooperative arrangement with the publicity offices in
America of our Allies, this office likewise distributed to the
American press all of the official British propaganda wireless
material (intercepted by the American wireless stations) and
on occasion special announcements " broadcasted " by the
stations of the French and Italian Governments.

SPECIAL MEXICAN NEWS SERVICE.

Mention has been made of the work of this division hi giv-.
ing news to Central American towns which had never before
received a regular news report. In this v^ork Compiib was
not departing from its rule never to compete with organized
press agencies, for the simple reason that no press associations
were entered in this field. The success of the experiment led
to the establishment of a regular news service for afternoon
newspapers in Mexico. Mr. Robert H. Murray/ the com-
mittee's agent in Mexico City, reported that no private press
agency served any afternoon newspapers in Mexico. He de-
tailed how susceptible these newspapers were to subtle Ger-
man propaganda and how their confidence might be gained
for the United States if a brief world news summar};^ were
delivered to them.

With due consideration to the fact that one great American
press association — the Associated Press — was already serving
morning newspapers in Mexico, and with its cooperation a
300-word service was filed from 9 a. m. to noon each day
except Sunday. The service embraced world news of every
character.

Of a similar character was the service inaugurated in
February, 1918, and sent over the wires of the Haitian Cable
Co. gratis. It was a world-news report, covering "spof
news only, and the cable company sent it everywhere on its
lines free of cost across the Caribbean into the Antilles and
to the northern coast of South America.

SUSTAINING soldiers' MORALE.

Part of the work of Compub was to sustain Allied morale.
Naturally, therefore, when means were under consideration
to keep the morale of American soldiers at the highest pos-

116 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INPORMATIOIST.

sible pitch of efficiency, Compub was asked to assist. The
great need of the American soldier overseas was felt to be
news of home and of home folks. What news was printed
was mostly of national affairs or of the war. There was no
newspaper in Europe which could afford the expense of
cabling items of purely local interest to the boy from Helena,
Mont., or of Milwaukee, or San Francisco, or Cincinnati, or
scores of other American cities. What was wanted was tiny
bits of home news^^ for soldiers — ^little local items which
would keep him in touch with conditions in his home town,
just as a letter from his chum, or his mother, brother, sister,
or sweetheart, or wife would do.

The "home-news" department of the regular wireless
report of the Foreign-Press-Cable Service was a development
of this idea. The American press was combed by readers in
the New York offices for " homy " news. A report of nearly
1,500 words daily was prepared from these small items of
news, none of which in themselves averaged more than 50
words each. Every effort was made to cover the whole of
the United States.

In the distribution of this matter to the soldier overseas
the Foreign-Press-Cable Service had the cooperation of all
American welfare services — the Young Men's Christian As-
sociation, Red Cross, Knights of Columbus, Young Men's
Hebrew Association, Salvation Army, and others — as well
as the Army authorities. The latter granted permission for
transmission of these home-news items over Army wires from
Paris to the front. The welfare organizations received copies
in the huts close to the front and posted them for the benefit
of the soldiers. Several welfare organizations in London and
Paris printed a daily " newspaper " composed of these items
and dispatched copies by mail to all recreation centers, hos-
pitals, canteens, huts, etc., within reach. American sailors
received them, Navy wireless operators copying them through-
out the reach of the American wireless sending station.

FRONT NEWS SERVICE ESTABLISPIED.

Early in the summer of 1918, when American troops
entered in the "Great push," the division felt it desirable
still further to extend its services of information. Mr. Perry

REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATIOIST. 11 7

Arnold was sent abroad to study methods of news distribution
and to organize a " news from the American front " service^
He reorganized the committee's offices in London and Paris,
visited the branch at Madrid and employed Maximilian Fos-
ter, the well-known novelist and writer, as the committee's
representative at the front with the American Army, after
himself having started such a service.

This service from the front was cabled and wirelessed
throughout the world. It sought to give a day by day
analysis of A¥hat American troops were doing in the great
war. It Avas an amplification of the daily communique as
issued by the Army authorities. The division found Gen.
Pershing's staff at Chaumont — American headquarters — in
full sympathy with its plan of telling the world exactly what
American soldiers were doing and Compub's representative
was accorded the fullest facility in visiting the front and in.
transmitting his dispatches via Army wires.

COOPERATION WITH THE WORLD PRESS.

From the inauguration of its services Compub impressed
on ail correspondents of foreign journals in this country that
the division did not mean to compete with any existing news
associations or newspapers; that there was no thought of
setting up an exclusive news agency for transmission of
American official statements and the like; that the division
existed solely as a liaison between the United States Govern-
ment and the peoples of the world.

When the service was organized, it established headquarters,
at 20 Broad Street, New York City, in the same building
with the Navy cable censorship. It was then felt that the divi-
sion should be in the closest touch with the day by day dis-
patches via the cables. It was part of the duty of the division
to study the trend of thought exhibited in these dispatches and
to aid in the development of certain lines of infoi^mation no
less than in the suppression of certain harmful tendencies.
In this work the division grew to be in a measure, an advisory
office in connection with the censorship.

One of the most important achievements of Compub Avas
the organization of the foreign correspondents, a group of
more than a score of distinguished journalists representing

118 KEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

great foreign newspapers and press associations. The corre-
spondents readily appreciated the vahie of membership in
an organization which was officially recognized by the Gov-
ernment, and granted special previleges and. their associa-
tion adopted by-laws stringently linuting membership to
bona fide correspondents of foreign journals.

Mention of this particular phase of the division's work
would not be complete Avithout specific mention of the splen-
did spirit of cooperation manifested by the foreign corre-
spondents themeselves. All were journalists of high stand-
ing — men of unique experience in world journalism. All en-
tered heartil}^ into the work of presenting to their readers —
numbering millions throughout the world — the exact facts
as to America.

The cooperation of the foreign press, which Avas thus
forcibly brought to the attention of the division, resulted
in a new line of activit}^ By this time the division had
established its own offices in a great many foreign capitals.
Through these offices and representatives, it now undertook
to supply special articles covering specific inquiries of for-
eign newspapers and periodicals. A great many foreign
periodicals established " American Departments " and were
supplied with special descriptive and feature articles by this
division. Correspondents of foreign newspapers in America
came to the division with requests for various matter or for
permission to inspect certain American war activities.

PERSONNEL OF THE DIVISION.

At the time of the signing of the armistice, the personnel
of the division had grown from two employees— Mr. Rogers
and Mr. Arnold — to the following :

New York o^c^.-AValter S. Rogers (director), Perry
Arnold, Herman Suter, R. R. Reilly, Frank S. Gardiner,
Theodore Wallen, R. J. Rochon, Lieuts. F. E. Ackerman
and P. S. O'Reilly, E. F. Wilson, Miss Smith and a staff
of stenographers and typists.

San Francisco oflce, — ^AV. B. Clausen.

xl7)r6>a€Z.— Maximilian Foster, representative at t]ie Ameri •
can front; Paul V. Perry, in charge at I^ondon; A. M.
Brace, in charge at Paris; John Collins, in charge wi

KEPORT COMMITTEE OjST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 119

Panama. In addition to these men, who devoted their en-
tire time to handling the wireless and cable news, the com-
missioners of the committee, in charge in every capital, used
these reports exclusively in their jpublicity campaigns.

POST-WAR WORK.

Immediately upon the signing of the armistice, orders Avere

given to close every division of the Committee on Public In-
formation with the exception of the wireless and cable serv-
ice. It was not only the case that there still remained the
necessity of putting true reports of the Peace Conference
before the people of the world, but the press of America itself
demanded aid in telling the story of Paris to the people of
the United States.

The cables, alreadj^ overburdened, became hopelessly
jammed when an army of American neAvspaperinen com-
menced to file daily dispatches in Paris for quick transmission.

Mr. Rogers proceeded to France at once, and after confer-
ence with the Associated Press, the United Press, the Inter-
national News Service, and the correspondents of metropoli-
tan dailies, it w^as agreed that Com];)ub should make one send-
ing by wireless of all textual matter official in its character.
A " loop " wire in the Compub office at New York permitted
simultaneous delivery to all three press associations in New
York. .

At no time was " propaganda " attempted. Only the bare
text was sent of official speeches, official statements and official
routine, the matter used in common by all papers. Nor was
censorship of any sort attempted. The one purpose was the
relief of the cables in the interest of full and speedy trans-
mission of Paris news to the United States.

In time it was seen that an even larger measure of aid was
necessary, and Compub secured from the Navy an additional
allowance of 3,500 words daily, which was handed over to the
correspondents' association to be used as the members decided.
Even this matter was not censored or supervised, except as to
length. The correspondents handed their " stories " in to
Compub at Paris ; they were transmitted over American army
wires to the French wireless station at Lyon, and from Lyon
they went by radio to the American wireless station at Otter-

120 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC mFORMATIO]Sr.

cliff 65 Me., manned by United States Navy Communications
operators. Here the matter was copied and relayed ^^avy
wir^. to Compub in Few York, and dispatched immediately to
the addressee. Correspondents of newspapers thronghout the
United States made use of this service. It was generally
speedier by two or three hours than the overcrowded cables.
Moreover, no charge was made by the Kavy or the Foreign
Press-Cable Service for overseas transmission — the only cost
to the addressee being the telegraph tolls from the New York
office of the Compub to the newspaper. All matter was sent
to the addressees without change of a letter. To handle it,
the New York offices of Compub were put on a 24-hour basis,
to make speediest relay of press matter.

The practice of Compub in forwarding President Wilson's
speeches and messages throughout the world was continued
when the Chief Executive of the Nation went to Europe. The
President was held to be the spokesman of the American idea
and as such his utterances were waited for and read through-
out the civilized world.

AH of this informational work, as well as the relaying
of dispatches to the American i3ress, necessitated enlarge-
ment. Lieut. F. E. Ackerman, who had been temporarily
assigned to work in another department of the Committee
on Public Information, w^as brought back to handle ^a mail
clipping service in charge 01 several clerks. Lieut. George
S. Wheat, U. S. N. E. F., was detached from sea duty and
assigned by the Navy Censorship to handle the day by day
news summary. W. C. Garner, just discharged after over-
seas duty with the American Expeditionar}^ Forces, was em-
ploj^ed as cable assistant, having had extensive newspaper
experience. Murclock Pemberton, recently released from
the Navy after duty in the censorship department at New
York, was employed as news editor. He likewise brought
long newspaper training to the job. Elbert SeA^erance joined
the staff as cable assistant, after several years' newspaper
experience. Additional emplo3^^ees were required for the
night shifts.

On January?' 1 decision was made to discontinue the South
American service.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 121

SUMMARY.

The total work accomplished by the Foreign Press- Cable
Service may perhaps be best visualized by the following
snmmar}^ of actual wordage handled (estimated in part) :

GircuJation of messages and speeches of President Wilson and other
official statements.

Date.

Nature of message.

Point of origin.

Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.

June
July
July
Aug.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.

Oct.
Oct.
Oct.
Oct.

Kov.
Nov.
Kov.
Nov.
Kov.
Kov.
Kov.
Doc.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
, Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Dec.
Jan.
Jan,
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Feb.

Feb.
Feb.
Mar.
Mar.
Mar.

4,1917
8,1918
11,1918
19,1918
6, 1918

7,1918
4,1918

14,1918
5, 1918
2,1918

16,1918

27,1918
2,1918

12,1918
8,1918 .

14,1918
19,1918
23,1918
25,1918

5, 1918
6, 1918
11, 1918
13, 1918
13; 1918
16, 1918
23, 1918
2,1918
14; 1918
16, 1918
22, 1918
25, 1918
26, 1918
27, 1918
28, 1918
28, 1918
28, 1918
29, 1918
30, 1918
3, 1919
3, 1919
4, 1919
6, 1919
7, 1919
24, 1919
25, 1919
26, 1919
14, 1919

14, 1919
24, 1919
3, 1919
4, 1919
27, 1919

Washington, D. C
do

-do.
-do.
.do.

.do...
.do...
-do...
.do...
.do...
.do...
-do...
.do...
-do...
-do...

.-do.
..do.
..do.
..do-

Speech to Congerss

Speech on fourteen points

America's war aims

Dutch shipping

Anniveisary of America's entrance into
the war.

Address to Mexicans

Independence Day speech

Greetings to our itllies

On San Salvador

Re wheat prices . - . ,

Secretary Lansing's reply to Austria

Speech on Liberty loan

Women's suffrage

Germany's peace acceptance (statement) .
Statements regarding Germany's peace
feelers.

Reply to Germany's note

Austria's peace note and reply

Secretary Lansing's reply to Germany

President's appeal for honjjartisanship in
war.

Address to German Government

Address to Rumanian (Jovcrnmcnt

Armistice terms

Foodstuffs f jr Germany

Corrected armiistice terms

'ote to Germany :

Prcsi 'ent's message to Congress

President's speech

President's speech to Sociahsts ,

President's speech at Hotel de Villo

President's speech, Sorbonne

President's speech, C'hristmas

President's speech, Dover

President's speech, Buckingham

President's speech at.Kvangehcal Clmrch.
President's speech replying to Lord Mayor ^

President's speech, Mansion House ' do

President's speech at Carlisle ; do ,

President's speech at Manchester ■ ISIanch-ester .

President's speech in Italian Parliament. . ; Rome ,

President's speech at Qiiirinal ; do

President's statement about Italian people : do

President's speech at Palazzcone ! do

President's speech at Turin ; Turin

President's speech to ^\'■ar Council i Paris

Resolutions of League of Nations ; do

President's speech to French women do

President's speech on covenant of League ' do

of .'ations. ,

President's explanation of League ' do

President's Boston speech i Boston

President's address to governors ' Washington

President's .. 'ew York speech \ New Yov]z.. .

President's statement re League j Paris

do..,

do...

do..

Paris

do..

do. .

London .

do . .

.do.,
.do..

Total number of speeches and messages broadcasted
Total number of words broadcasted

54
69, 343

122 EEPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORM ATIOIST.

SUjMMAKY of all SERVICES PREPARED AND SE]ST BY THE DIVISION,

Regular %DiTelessP — Inaugurated October 1, 1917. Then
intended mainly for interception by the French wireless sta-
tion at Lyon. Contained originally only brief news propa-
ganda articles, total service aggregating 1,000 words. Subse-
quently intercepted by British wireless stations; then by
American operators at American naval base and relayed to
an agent of the division in London, who distributed it to the
press. Length increased July, 1918, to 2,000 words, of which
500 was " home news " prepared for dissemination to Ameri-
can soldiers and sailors. Again increased in size November,
1918, and a new department, that of editorial comment, added.
Total length now, 3,500 words.

Russian informational service, — Started October 1, 1917,
as a daily cabled news summary to " Compub," Petrograd,
where distributed by agents of the Committee on Public In-
formation. Average daily length, 300 words. Later sent to
Moscow ; then wirelessed by cooperation of French Govern-
ment. Discontinued when committee withdrew its agents
from Petrograd and Moscow. (See special Eussian service to
Archangel.)

British sfecial service, — A cabled special service started in
July, 1918 ; later changed to wireless. Carried -special articles
and news features of special utilization in British newspapers
and periodicals. Sent biweekly. Averaged 300 words. Later
increased to 700 words.

S fecial service for Greece. — Inaugurated as a cable service,
sent fortnightly or weekly to London for relay by Keuter's to
Salonica and other Greek points. Later included in London
daily special wireless, together with other specialized stories
for Holland, Ireland, Spain, etc.

Special service for Holland. — Inaugurated as a weekly or
occasional service to Holland. First conceived as indirect
service by cable to various Dutch newspapers, the special
articles being prepared by Mr. Henry Van Loon, of Cornell
University. Later superseded b};^ various news of interest to
Dutch people sent to London in the special wireless service
and by London relayed to the agent of the Committee on
Public Information at The Hague.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 123

Special service for Irish press. — Consisted of various arti-
cles of news interest to Ireland cabled weekly (oftener on
occasion) to London, and by London customarily handled
to tlie Irish press through various British agencies. Later
incorporated into special wireless service.

Special service for Archangel. — Took the place of the
cabled service formerly sent to Petrograd and Moscow (see
entry under Russian information service). Was sent daily,
or as often as desired, to London, being included in the special
wireless, and by London relayed to the American consul at
Archangel for his propaganda use and for his distribution to
American soldiers at that front.

Specieil toireless service. — This was a localized " section
of the regular wireless report. It was wirelessed- to London
for London's distribution. It included specialized news
for England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Holland, Scandi-
navia, and Greece, and other nations. Where the news was
for London's relay to other countries, London customarily
obtained its forwarding to those countries through coop-
eration of Renter's, Limited. The special wireless was sent
daily and averaged 600 words.

Special cable service for " The Field.^'^ — The Field, a
British periodical of large circulation, was induced through
representatives of the committee on duty in London, to ar-
range for an " American Department." In this department
the division furnished a great deal of American publicity
matter, including, generally, a special cabled article weekly.
Aside from the publicity obtained in this magazine, the edi-
tor, Sir Theodore Cook, a great admirer of America and of
Americans, took a keen interest in circulation of American
news and through large personal acquaintance with British
editors and journalists got them frequent!}^ to reprint arti-
cles appearing in his periodical.

Special cahle sei'vice for the National News. — The National
News organization was a British propaganda agency oper-
ating throughout the British Isles and particularly in Ire-
land. Man}^ special news articles were prepared for them
and sent to the London offices of the Compub for distribution
to them. The National News likewise rendered very valu-
able cooperation in the printing of pamphlets containing
news facts concerning America and America's war efforts.

124 REPOBT COMMITTEE Oif PUBLIC UsTFORMATIOF.

Special service to Haiti, — This was a special cable service
circulated gratis through cooperation of the Haiti Cable Co.
It consisted of a summary of the day's news, approximating
400 words daily, Ysdiich was prepared b}^ this office and sent
over cables of the Haitian Co. to all their offices. By these
offices it was posted in various Central American and Carib-
bean cities or sold by the cable company's agents to \'arious
newspapers, etc. In this way many cities and communities
otherwise totally cut off from news of the world received ade-
quate news summaries of the day's happenings and included
therein |)lenty of true news of America.

Special service to RomjC, — In May, 1918, the Committee on
Public Information had established offices in Eome and was
anxious to obtain matter prepared by this division for circu-
lation in the Italian press. Cable delays were very irksome,
and through cooperation of the Italian Government and the
United States N"avy Communications Service arrangements
were finally effected for installation of adequate receiving
equipment for wireless. A special wireless report of news of
interest to Italians was inaugurated in the summer of 1918,
but was temporarily discontinued, owing to mechanical diffi-
culties in October, resuming in October. The average daily
number of words was 500.

Special service to Inaugurated April, 1918, when

the division obtained a representative in Mexico City. The
service was sent by cable and consisted of a world news suin-
mary. Practically no attempt was made to insert propaganda
matter into this report, since it was designed purely as a
press association service for afternoon newspapers, at that
time not served by any private agency, and therefore very
open to German propaganda " news." Usually a copy of this
special cabled service was cabled to the Texas-Mexican border
(to American consular representatiA^^es, who made effective use
of it) . This matter averaged 300 words daily.

Special Scandinavian service— OTigiu^lly inaugurated as
a triweekly cabled service, consisting of American news of
interest to the Scandinavian countries. Started August/
1918. Later changed so that matter was included in the spe-
cial wireless.

Trans-Pacific loireless service. — Started in December. 1917,
being prepared by a special representative in San Francisco

REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION. 125

of Compub." Was matter of particular interest to China,
Japan, and the Philippines and Hawaii. Was sent by Kav}?
wireless from San Diego, received at Pearl Harbor (Hono-
lulu) distributed to the press there; relayed from Pear]
Harbor to Manila, distributed to the press there; rela^'cd by
Manila on. The theory was that the Japanese Government
stations would intercept it and distribute to the press, but
mechanical difficulties always interfered. Later, through
arrangement with the Navy Department, the Navy delivered
a copy daily to the cable relay station at Guam, and this mat^
ter was thereafter filed from Guam by cable to Tokio (north-
ward) and to Shanghai (southward). At Tokio it was re-
ceived by the American Embassy and distributed to the press.
At Shanghai, an agent of Compub received it and handled
through a specially organized press association. He also
forwarded the matter to Vladivostok.

Special Siberian service. — ^American troops received news
at Vladivostok via trans-Pacific wireless route explained
above. In the early part of 1919 Mr. Eogers, with coopera-
tion of the French authorities, inaugurated a special wireless
service on American news, sent from Lyons, France, for
interception by Anierican wireless stations at Omsk and
Vladivostok, Siberia, and such other receiving stations as
could decipher it. Total, 500 words daily.

South American daily special service, — Inaugurated in
August, 1918. Sent by Central and South American Cable
Co. on what is knowm as the " drop copy " plan, viz, copy was
taken at all stations between New York and Buenos Aires.
Delivered to Compub offices in Buenos Aires, Lima, Santiago,
and to American consular and diplomatic offices in all towns
touched by the cable. Was a day by day news summary of
matters of interest to South and Central Americans. Was
received by a Compub agent in Panama, who relaj^ed it to
Central American points. DiscQntinued in January, 1919.
Averaged 600 words daily.

South American loii^eless se^'vice, — Inaugurated in Jan-
uary, 1919. Averaged 600 words daily, being news of
specialized interest to Central and South America. Was sent
by wireless and intercepted at Darien (Canal Zone) , and Kio
de Janeiro (in fragmentary form, according to latest re-
ports) . At Darien was turned over to Compub's agent, who

126 REPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

forwarded to Central American points. At Rio de Janeiro
was handed to the American Embassy, which distributed it.

Special service to Lima^ Peru. — A special service continued
for one month (October-November) 1918, for specalized use
in Peru. Was sent daily by cable, average 400 words, re-
ceived by Compub's agent at Lima and distributed through
his macliinery.

S'pecial service to Spain, — News of interest to Spam was
originally included in the special wireless to London ; London
rela^dng special news items as well as stories from tlie regular
wireless which it was deemed might be of interest. Later
Paris was made the relaying agent. During the sunnner of
1918 it was found this was subject to great delays, so for one
month a special cabled service was sent from New York,,
direct to Compub, Madrid, for special use by Compuirs agent
there.

Special editorial service. — (a) General: Included as part
of regular wireless report in November, 1918. Averaged 500
Avords daity. Included extracts from editorials throughout
the country on international topics. Mainly for advice of
American peace mission.

{})) Special: Embraced hostile editorial comment which
from its nature was thought best not to be sent by wireless
because the enemy might make use of it, was therefore sent
daily by cable, mainly for information of American peace
mission. A^'craged 400 words daily.

Special informational service for American mission. —
Sent occasional lly when it was believed special currents of
public thought might be of value to the American mission.
Examples of this special service include: Full textual report
of the Lodge-Lowell debate in Boston; special editorial com-
pendium on the League of Nations; special editorial sym-
posium on the editorial as to Russia; editorial conrment on
the Prinkipo Island conference, etc.

Daily nen\H .s't/mmar'^/.-— Inaugurated immediately after
American peace mission arrived. Was designed to give
these American representatives a bircVs-eye viev/ daily of
the main news topics as printed in American newspapers:
how the}?- regarded happenings of the day, etc. Averaged
1,000 words. Sent by wireless daily. During the time Presi-
dent Wilson- was en route to and from Europe w^is inter-

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATION. 127

cepted by wireless aboard his ship and handed to the Presi-
dent for his information.

FOREIGN PRESS BUREAU.

At the outset it was seen that wireless and the cables, even
used to the utmost, could not meet our foreign needs. It
was not enough to give the world the daily news of America's
war effort, our military progress, and the official declara-
tions and expositions with respect to our war aims and de-
terminations. There were lies of long standing that had
to be met and defeated — lies that attacked America as " dol-
lar mad," that maligned our free institutions, that denied
our liberty and our justice. What was needed were short
articles descriptive of our development as a Nation and a
people; our social and industrial progress, our schools, our
laws, our treatment of workers, women and children ; a mail
service, in fact, that could be taken b}^ our foreign repre-
sentatives, translated, rewritten if necessary, and pushed
into the foreign press to the largest possible extent.

Mr. Ernest Poole, the author, one of the first men to vol-
unteer his whole services to the committee, was given charge
of this new undertaking, and, with the assistance of Mr. Paul
Kennaday, he gathered about him a volunteer staff of the
most brilliant men and women writers ever assembled in one
group for a common service.

One feature that would have justified the work had it
stood alone was a series of weekly letters by such well-known
authors as Owen Wister, Booth Tarkington, Gertrude Ather •
ton, William Shepherd, Edward Plungerford, Ellis Parker
Butler, Henry Kitchell Webster, Will Payne, Mary Shipman
Andrews, Anne O'Hagan Shinn, Walter Prichard Eaton,
and Ernest Poole. Other distinguished writers in constant
service were William Dean Howells, Ida Tarbell, Wallace
Irwin, Meredith Nicholson, Fannie Plurst, Edna Eerber,
Samuel Merwin, and William Allen White.

In describing war aims and national activities, we took
material from several hundred dail}^ newspapers and weekly
and monthl}^ magazines from all sections of the United
States, giving all shades of opinion. Included in these were
a large number of trade journals and special magazines cov-

128 EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC USTFORMATIOIST,

ering the fields of finance, agriculture, labor, education, re-
ligion, medicine, etc. We also drew largely from State and
Federal Government bulletins and reports, and reports of

private organizations.

Tliis part of our service was based on statements of the
President, of the Secretary of State and of other Govern-
ment officials, and the spoken and written comment from
newspapers and magazines, also from prominent citizens
and organizations throughout the country.

About one-half of our service consisted of news and
feature articles, Government bulletins, etc., describing the
activities of the Armj^ and Navy — war preparations of all
kinds, the recruiting of volunteers, the method and opera-
tion of the selective draft, the work in the cantonments, the
going of our troops to France, and the many increasing ac-
tivities there. Also the making of munitions, the building of
ships, the vast work of the United States Navy, and the
rapidly deepening spirit all over the United States of unity
and determination in the prosecution of the war.

In addition we dealt with various fields of activities, such
as agriculture and food conservation, industry and finance,
labor, education, religion and medicine, in relation to the
work of the war and the growth of our democracy. These
articles were a means of reaching a wider public abroad —
for owing to the lack of paper the foreign newspapers were
greatly diminished in size, and although a large amount of
our material did succeed in gaining a place in their columns,
we felt it urgent to go further, and by sending many special
articles and getting -them published in the special journals
and magazines of each country we gradually widened our
circle of readers. Following are brief reports of the work
in each of these special fields :

Food^ fuel^ and textiles. — In this field our aim was to em-
phasize the pcsiticn of the United States as the greatest
source of the world's reserve supplies of food, fuel, and tex-
tiles, and to show this country's determination to keep the
allied fighting forces and civilian populations provided with
the necessities of life. We emphasized throughout the
patriotism, self-sacrifice, and good will toward allied nations
among the people of the United States as expressed in food
and fuel production and conservation.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 129

Also, at all times it was endeavored to reflect the spirit,
progress, and development of rural United States, especially
in the direction of greater democracy, increased interest in
cooperation, organization, and farmer representation in na-
tional aifairs, and the application of principles of the larger
internationalism to the life and interests of the farmers of
America. Principles and measures whereby the Government
is cooperating with and assisting the farmer were also dis-
cussed, explained, and their significance pointed out.

We sent out regular weekly letters on farm and crop con-
ditions. Food Administration activities and achievements,
and the fuel situation. The total number of other articles on
different phases of food and fuel production and conserva-
tion, agricultural development, etc., averaged about 40 a
month. Posters, administration bulletins. Department of
Agriculture reports, and other illuminating publications
were sent in considerable quantity.

Education. — In this field we endeavored to reach the hun-
dreds of thousands of teachers in foreign countries through
the press and to bind them together more closely in friend-
ship and good will. They represented a great international
force hitherto immobilized but united by multiple bonds of
similar aims and activities. Throughout the neutral and
allied world enemy propagandists had circulated among
them every conceivable distortion of our education and
ideals. These needed to be counteracted by truthful interpre-
tations, which, however, sought to avoid tendencies toward
superlatives and to allow accurate statements of fact to carry
their own story.

Each week Ave sent out articles on education which were
forw^arded to some 35 foreign countries, where our repre-
sentatives received, translated, and passed them on to the
press of the country in question. There as a rule they either
appeared in the public, the literary, or the technical educa-
tional press. Many of these articles Avere especially written
for us on request by leading educators all over the United
States.

Further, the educational press of the United States gener-
ously gave permission to use their current articles and also
signified a readiness to accept our proposed exchange service.

121033—20 9

130 REPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

This exchange program was based on the idea that only as
people have things in common can they cooperate. Basic
among these things is knowledge about each other. Unfor-
tunately, the teachers of the world know little about each
other. The great mass of the graded school-teachers have
had little chance for travel or study of other peoples. So
while we asked our educators to interpret our educational
system and ideals and progress to others, we also asked
foreign nations to interpret their systems to us, feeling that
we had much to learn from these older cultures. In Eng-
land, in Spain, and elsewhere the Government authorized a
native educator to mobilize such writings of his people for us.

For the purpose of translating such articles over here a
large staff of volunteer translators offered their services Avith-
out compensation. Special requests cabled from certain
countries were met, and the articles, often illustrated with
pictures of American school equipment and life, went by the
next mail.

Trade and industry. — In this field, with the generous co-
operation of many trade and industrial journals and organi-
zations, we aimed to describe the manifold activities of the
various ^trades and industries in support of the war. The
editors of many of the leading trade journals in the country
became regular volunteer contributors, giving us weekly or
monthly reviews of the progress of war Tyork in their par-
ticular fields. These special news letters were sent to the
foreign agents together with a list of trade journals in each
foreign country, asking our agents to try to place such special
articles in special journals abroad. Their efforts met with
wide success.

Finance, — In this field we aimed to describe the financial
strength of this country, the good will of the people, and the
evidence of democracy in the various financial measures car-
ried out b};^ the Government. We used reports from the
I'reasury Department, and also statements issued by that de-
partment from time to time. We also fully described the
various Liberty loan drives in popular news articles. We
obtained from the editor of the American Bankers' Magazine
weekly financial articles, which in many foreign countries
our agents readily placed in the financial columns of the for-
eign press. We also obtained from time to time statements

RKPORT COMMITTEE OIsT PUBLIC IISTFORMATION. 131

especially written for us by well-known bankers and econo-
mists in this country.

Labor, — In this field it was our purpose to describe the
Vv'ann support of the war by the labor elements in this conn
try. We used largely the reports and statements of Govern-
ment bodies dealing with labor, as well as those of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor and various State and municipal
bodies belonging to the federation. We ran statements of
prominent labor leaders, and published articles describing
labor activities in shipyards and other centers where war
work was carried on. We gave the workers' and the employ-
ers' side, and showed the new relations and mutual under-
standings between employer and employed, Avhich in many
places were built up during the work of the war.

Religion, — In this field Ave showed the churches of all de-
nominations ralljdng to the support of the Avar. We made it
a special point to answer in Catholic countries abroad the
German false allegations that in this country the Catholic
church Avas being persecuted by the Government and Avas hos-
tile to the Avar. We ran statements by prominent men both
in the Catholic and Protestant churches, and also by leaders
of the JeAvish religion. We described Avar activities of the
churches, and ran largely extracts from sermons setting forth
the ideals and war aims of this Nation.

Department of medicine, — In this field Ave described both
in popular and in more technical articles the activities of the
medical profession in the Avar. We used largely the reports
and statements from the Surgeon General's Office, also from
the Eed Cross, and from many non-Government bodies hav-
ing to do not only with strictly military work, but also with
the public health. In these ways we showed various ad-
vances in medicine and surgery in this country during the
war, and also in the general movement of safeguarding and
promoting public health as an essential part of our ever-
growing democracy.

Women^s activities, — In this field we described the count-
less A'^aried activities of women in support of the war. We
also described the changing status of women as a result of
the Avar, laying stress on the success with Avhich they re-
placed men in industries.

132 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Special countries, — Also on the staff, or connected with the
division as volunteer helpers from outside, were men with a
special knowledge of England, France, Italy, Eussia, Hol-
land, Sweden, JSTorway, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Serbia,
Spain, and Latin American countries. It was their work to
write or edit supplementary material of special interest to
each country.

Our editor here for Italy could write colloquial Italian
and had a good working knowledge of the principal news-
papers in Italy. He wrote for such papers special news
letters, which were sent by mail or cable, describing activities
of Italians in this country, their support of the war, etc.;
also editorial opinion here as it concerned our relations with
Italy and the part that country played in the war ; messages
from administration officials here on Italian operations and
comment from United States public men. on Italian problems
and events; also statements by various well-knoAvn Italians
who visited this country during the war. The various official
missions from Italy were in constant touch with this office;
we supplemented the official programs arranged by other
organizations, bringing the visitors into touch with people
they desired to meet, getting publicity for them in various
wa^T^s, and furnishing them with sx3ecial material for use after
their return to Europe. In this connection we instituted the
plan for having a ship christened the Piave and for making
the event an occasion for the exchange of official and popular
expressions of esteem between the Governments of Italy and
of the United States.

More or less along these lines special articles were also sent
to England, France, and Spain in large numbers, being writ-
ten or edited either here or by volunteer helpers from outside.
Similar work was done for Russia whenever that was pos-
sible, meeting Bolshevist and German statements against us
by articles describing true conditions in this country, our
democracy at home and our purpose in the war, as well as
the widespread friendliness here at first toward the Eussian
revolution and the willingness to support any effort which
gave, in our opinion, hope of a real and lasting practical
democracy there.

For Austria and Germany articles were obtained from
X)r eminent German- Americans here loyal to this country and

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 133

making an appeal to the people of Germany and Austria to
throw oif their old rulers and begin to reestablish themselves
in the good opinion of the world. Such articles made it plain
that the warfare conducted by the German and Austrian
Governments had made these countries hated, not only by
native Americans but by those of German birth. In this
connection we also ran various articles exposing German
methods of propaganda.

For the Scandinavian countries and Holland Mr. Poole's
service worked in close cooperation with Mr. Bjorkman. As
a result it soon became impossible to pick up a Scandinavian
publication of any kind without finding references to Amer-
ica, indicating an eager desire to understand what this coun-
try stands for and what it intends to do hereafter.

It was through Sweden, among others, that some of our ma-
terial directed to the Germans was sent after the signing of
the armistice. We received from our representative there
the following comment on this material.

The appeal of Dr. Grosznuinii to liis fellow countrymen in Germany
was the best piece of propaganda work that has come over from the
United States, in my opinion. Whj^ can not we have more of the same
kind of stuff? It was translated into Danish by us and distributed
to the newspapers. It was very long', but in a week that was crowded
with the most important news that has yet taken place ; the Dageng
Nybeder used it in full on two successive days.

The newspapers and magazines of the A^-arious countrieis
were furnished with photographs, cuts, or mats, as their
mechanical equipment demanded. In addition about 750
wooden easels were made, each carrying 12 pictures. These
easels were distributed by the resident commissioners and
the pictures were changed weekly.

The distribution of pamphlets was made by mail or direct
delivery. Important utterances of the President and docu-
ments prepared in each country Avith a view to answering
local questions were printed locally in numbers running from
five to thirty thousand. These w^ere distributed through
selected mediums obtained by cooperation wdth American,
British, French, and Italian commercial and government
organizations in each country.

The American reading rooms opened by resident com-
missioners received their supplies from the Foreign Pres«

134 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Bureau. Lectures made in the differeut countries by nationals
of those countries were also based on material furnished by
the bureaus. Data regarding the United States, including
standard magazines, books, and periodicals, were furnished
to public and private bodies. Schools and public libraries
were furnished with American newspapers and periodicals
and in some cases particularly desirable books relating to
public questions.

The Foreign Press Bureau, in conjunction with the Export
Division, devoted itself to the preparation of particular
pamphlet and news material for South America. It fur-
nished the headquarters in the different countries with posters
from all the branches of the Government devoted to war
work and aided the bureaus in forwarding campaigns for
war savings stamps, Liberty loan, and Eed Cross, and other
activities in each of their territories. It arranged for the
publication in all magazines in the United States having
foreign circulation, for such articles and editorials indi-
cating our attitude toward world questions.

Pictorial service, — This service grew up in response to
increased demands from our agents in foreign countries. It
provided each week photographs, cuts, and mats to illustrate
our articles, photographs to the number of 1,500 per week for
display upon easels in shop windows, and some 60,000 large
news pictorials to be placed in the many thousands of shop
window^s in foreign countries which were available for our
use. To a large extent, space in these windows was secured
for the committee's representatives by the cooperation of
American exporters through their agents abroad, especially
in Latin-American countries. The pictorial service also dis-
tributed widely the war posters of this country and millions
of picture post-cards showing forth our war activities. The
window hangers were sent out in sets of six each week with
captions in various languages, such as English, French,
Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian,
and Dutch. Unimprinted display sheets were sent to Russia,
China, Japan, Korea, some parts of India, etc. For the
Oriental countries a special version was printed, with a wide
margin on the right hand side, thus allowing the space neces-
sary for imprinting the languages of the country receiving
them. With all unimprinted material either English printed

REPORT COMMITTEE 01^ PUBLIC INFORMATION. 135

samples or English captions were inclosed. The output was
divided as follows :

Photographs (specially captioned) :

Average weekly shipment 1, 500

Countries receiving 35

Cut and mat service (captions pasted on cuts and mats) :
Average weekly shipment —

Cuts (coarse screen) 179

Cuts (fine screen) ' 54

Mats 307

Countries receiving —

Guts (coarse screen) 16

Cuts (fine screen) 11

Mats 10

Window display hangers (this covered service both for foreign
agents and for export work, 42 per cent was charged to ex-
port) :

Weekly shipment (60,000 prints) —

Subjects per week 6

Languages 9

Specially unimprinted (for Russia, China, Japan) 2

Countries receiving 52

The countries receiving photographs, mats, cuts, and win-
dow hangers, and the number of such received in each case
is shown in the following table :

Weekly distrihuHon of pictorial material.

Countries,

Africa

Argentina

Australasia

Brazil

Canada

Canary Islands

Chile

China, Peking

China, Shanghai

Colombia

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Cuba

Denmark

Dominican Republic.

England

France

French Indo-China. . .

Greece

Guam

British Guiana

Haiti

Holland

Honduras

India

British East Indies . . .

Photos.

Cuts.

Mats.

72
12
100

Window
display-
sets of 6.

235
300
277
200
24
5

300
200
980
158
4
15
55
114
15
570
476

'"7
4
2

170
16
70
4

136 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Weekly distribution of pictorial material — Continued.

Countries.

British West Indies.

Italy

Japan..

Malta

Mexico

Newfoundland

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Norway

Panama

Peru

Philippines

Porto Rico

Portugal

Russia:

Salvador

Santo Domingo

Samoa.

Scotland

Spain

Society Islands

Sweden

Switzerland

United States i

Venezuela.-.'

Cisneros

Uroiti

Total.

Photos.

30
25
40
30
100
35
25
35

30
30
20

Cuts.

60 :

233

Mats.

Window
display
sets of 6.

20 ■

108
1,050
110

1,000
8

110
42
78
50

150
1,730
58
24

200
300
41
2
8
10
434
4

110
54
1,500
65

11,536

1 For export houses.

Export service. — Through various organizations of United
States exporters to foreign countries we established a Special
service beginning with Latin America and finally taking in
the entire world. Our articles were printed regularly in
several large export journals, together with our photographs.
From our articles we also made, in various languages, brief
inserts telling of war aims and activities, to be inclosed with
business catalogues and also to be sent in tens of thousands
of letters sent out weekly from the United States. In addi-
tion, window displays were arranged with the pictorial serv-
ice as mentioned above. By this means 650 of the foreign
correspondents of American manufacturers and exporters
were used for the display of our illustrated news pictorials.
In obtaining distribution means, the confidential lists of all
the great sociological, ethical,^ religious, and commercial in-
terests were used.

Besides the accredited commissioners, the Bureau of Latin
American Affairs sent pamphlet and news material, pictures,

REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATIOIST. 137

cuts, mats, and the pictorial news service to a large number
of volunteer distributors throughout Mexico and Central and
South America.

Thus the Committee on Public Information Avas conduct-
ing throughout the world a telegraphic, wireless, cable, and
mail news service of a most thorough character to practically
every newspaper and periodical. It developed every medium
possible for the distribution of literature and the display of
motion and still photographs and pictorial matter. It be-
came better known in foreign countries as an official infor-
mation medium of the United States Government than it is
known in the United States. Its news was gladly accepted
everywhere, and the entire attitude of the press and public
toward this organization as the official mouthpiece of the
United States Government w^as most sympathetic and kind.

Extent of use. — The press material of the Poole bureau,
beginning with a weekly service of about 30,000 words and
running as high as 80,000 in English and 20,000 in Spanish,
was sent regularly to IT foreign commissioners of the com-
mittee, to 22 diplomatic and consular representatives in
countries where there were no committee commissioners, to
10 United States citizens abroad cooperating as agents of
the committee, to the British ministry of labor, and to 18
accredited correspondents in this country of foreign neAvs-
papers. Close touch was maintained with all these commis-
sioners and agents through letters sent out regularly once a
Aveek and through frequent cables. Advised through such
correspondence of the openings in each country for articles
along various lines, the service to each country became more
and more specialized as the work continued. We Avere thus
enabled, also, to serve as a clearing house for methods of
publicity that had been tried Avith success in each country,
as the distribution of quantities of small American flags,
buttons carrying the flags of the United States and those of
our Allies, maps of Europe for AvindoAv exhibition shoAving
the 'location of the American forces on the Avestern front,
sets of American band music, American ncAvspapers, maga-
zines, and books for the equipment of small reading rooms in
connection Avith our foreign offices.

The extent to Avhich our press material Avas printed in
foreign neAvspapers and magazines Aveek after Aveek Avas re-

138 KEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

markable, testifying at once to the new interest of the world
in things American and to the ability with which this office
was able to meet this demand with newspaper and magazine
material prepared by a corps of experienced writers on our
staff and by a large number of volunteers who generously
and repeatedly responded to our appeals for articles on
special subjects.

Reports coming to this office showed that in Spain and in
parts of South America up to 90 per cent of our material
was actually used.

In Eussia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and
China, much less of our press material actually found its
way into print. This was due in part to the time required
for the delivering of mails to these distant parts and to the
irregularity of mail service. But in Australia and jSTew^ Zea-
land our material, as it was sent to new^spapers had the
noticeable effect, it was reported to us, of supplying editors
with the basis for favorable editorial comment and for a
number of articles on this coimtry's part in the war. The
photographs and the window hangers w^ere extensively used
in China and Russia. In the Philippines they were dis-
tributed weekly from our headquarters in Manila to over
TOO towns. Upon request we also sent to China for exhibits
in schools 15 complete sets of photographs of 53 of the uni-
versities and colleges of the United States.

Europe was, of course, our primary and our most im-
portant field and here the committee had, in most of thti
principal countries, its own offices and the machinery foi*
making the best use of what was sent from this bureau. In
England our material was used extensively. We not only
secured a large amount of space in the London and other
big dailies but our material appeared regularly throughout
Scotland and Ireland and in hundreds of the smaller Eng-
lish papers due to arrangements made for syndicating by
our representatives and to the splendid cooperation of the
British Government. We also furnished numerous special
articles each week to class publications.

The illustrated weekly, the Field, maintained an American
department of from three to four pages a week made up en-
tirely of our press material and photographs furnished by

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 139

US, and from these pages the English press copied extensively.
One of our articles, Booth Tarkington's American facts and
German propaganda," was carried in the Field, was then
copied by other papers, was sent in pamphlet form from our
London office to some 50,000 individuals, and was then pub-
lished and distributed in an edition of 850,000 copies by the
British ministry of information. The Tarkington pamphlet
was also used in several other connections.

Throughout Spain several hundred windows were put at
our disposal by American houses for the exhibition of our
photographs and reprints. These exhibitions attracted much
attention, the report of our representative on one typical
case being that " a big store in Barcelona is filled with propa-
ganda material and it is crowded all day long." The Spanish
press carried more and more of our material as the war
progressed and as American troops were rushed to the Euro-
pean battle front. Toward the end we received a report,
reading :

We are simply loading the Spajiisli papers wifeli your material, and
they are printing such a raft of it that others think we are spending
millions in subsidizing — but not a cent have I spent. You are supply-
ing the right kind of ammunition and I am shooting it.

Switzerland: Switzerland was an important point, both
because of its influence on neutral opinion and because of the
leakage into Germany and Austria of Swiss publications.
From our representative there we received reports from which
the following are taken :

We are highly successful in placing your material * * * We can
use practically all you send us * * * Many of these articles have
appeared in not one paper but in a hundred or more. Those of
which, for instance, have been taken by the Mittel Pi^esse have been
printed widely. In addition to this, we found many paragraphs which
we have sent out with our daily service. * * * A number of your
articles were translated and sent to all the papers, and they have used
them in whole or in part. Weekly financial, trade, and agriculture
letters are of great value.

Italy : From Italy came reports that more than half of our
service was being used. Our representative there wrote :

We find practically all of your special service is useful for this pur-
pose. Much of this service can be distributed by the Italian Press
Association and so will find space in scores of Italian journals.

140 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATION.

To Italy, in addition to our material sent to all countries
we sent 10 short articles a week on United States farming
and country life for use by the Italian provincial press. All
these articles were used regularly.

Eussia : In the case of Eussia we supplemented our material
with especially prepared articles on education, municipal
government, political organization, child welfare, district
nursing, etc. This our agent in Archangel reported was
" splendid material for Eussian work," and much of it was
circulated in bulletins issued in Eussian from the committee
office there.

Spirit of the work. — In concluding this report tribute
should be paid to all those who worked in this bureau with
Mr. Poole. Many worked as volunteers and others for sal-
aries lower than those they had hitherto received. All
showed a devotion to the work, a willingness to stay late, or
give up holidays in time of emergency here, and in general a
readiness to serve in every possible way, Avithout which the
success achieved would have been impossible.

FOREIGN FILM ACTIVITIES.

As has been pointed out, the Film Division, under the
direction of Mr. (^harles S. Hart, supplied not only the
United States with a brilliant stream of motion pictures
sliQwing the war progress of the United States at home and
abroad, but it sent its product also into every country in the
world outside the Central Powers. In addition arrange-
ments were made with the exporters of film that gave the
Committee on Public Information full control of the for-
eign distribution of American dramatic and comedy pictures,
a plan that permitted us to dominate the film situation in
every country. Such houses as refused to show our war
pictures could not purchase entertainment film, and in this
manner we not only put the committee's own pictures in
every house, but ran the German propaganda film out of
business.

In the case of the more important countries a film expert,
representing Mr. Hart's division, was dispatched as an aid
to the resident commissioner, and their reports are briefly
submitted herewith as a faint outline of activity:

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 141

ARCHANGEL.

Mr. Harry P. Inman, ordered to Archangel, carried with
him the following equipment to take care of the projection
and mending of films, and the repairing: One Ghronik mo-
tion-picture camera, complete; six Delco light plants, with
all accessories; six metallic roll screens; 100 T-Monoplane
lamps; six motor drives for 6-B cameragraphs, including
speed control; six Powers 6-B motion-picture machines,
equipped with 3 J -inch lenses; three semiportable motion-
picture booths.

Mr. Read Lewis, the committee's commissioner at Arch-
angel, had been supplying one motion-picture theater in
Archangel and two in a suburb with programs, and in con-
junction with the Young Men's Christian Association, was
furnishing three reels of features and comedies and two reels
of educationals. The money received was divided with the
Young Men's Christian Association,

Subsequent shipments were made to Mr. Inman of nega-
tive and positive raw stock, also 42 reels of feature dramas,
16 reels of good comedies, 26 reels of news weeklies, and all
our official film, including Pershing's Crusaders, America's
Answer, Bridge of Ships, Official War Review, etc., and ma-
terial for approximately 15 complete eight-reel programs.

Among other activities Mr. Inman made arrangements
with the educational department of the Russian Cooperative
TJnions (which is recognized by the present Archangel Gov-
ernment) for films to be released in towns within a 200-mile
radius of Archangel. These .showings Avere gratis.

ARGENTINA.

Mr. E. L. Starr, sent to South America, after concluding
a preliminary survey of the field, made arrangements with
Max Glucksman to distribute our official pictures. The first
distribution covered America's Answer, the diplomatic show-
ing of which was a great success, all Argentine officials being
present. During the week following the diplomatic showing
the net proceeds to the committee from America's Answer
amounted to $368, for one theater only.

142 KEPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOKMATION.

The second distribution was made of the fihn Bridge of
Ships, which had been increased from two to five reels by
adding the best and timeliest scenes from the Pershing's
Crusaders film. Numerous scenes from Pershing's Cru-
saders had already been shown in the other allied war
reviews, which necessitated our withdrawing and revising
the film as explained above. This showing was made at a
large benefit of the British- American Benevolent Society.

The financial arrangement with the Glucksman theaters
was on a 50-50 basis, but from other exhibitors through the
(jlucksman agency the committee received a net amount of 25
per cent of the gross earnings. Our official films were re-
ceived most cordially, and by the above plan secured a maxi-
mum amount of distribution.

BRAZIL.

Our records indicated that the average percentage of
illiteracy in Brazil is 80 per cent, and the utter lack of any
organized form of diversion had resulted in the great popu-
larity^ for the cinema. Conditions in this country disclosed
the fact that the motion picture was an unusually effective
employment for the dissemination of information and edu-
cation.

Until the outbreak of the war the market was entirely
controlled by the French and Italians. As a result of the
committee's work these films have been almost entirely re-
placed b}^ American films. The distribution in Brazil was
through the American Embassy at Rio de Janeiro, under the
personal supervision of Mr. E. V. Morgan, the ambassador*
All of our official pictures were sent to Mr. Morgan, as well
as many industrial subjects, and a wide distribution was
secured.

CHILE.

The film industry was found to be in the elementary state
in Chile as far as distribution and presentation of the pic-
tures are concerned. Tremendous areas are controlled by pri-
vate corporations which maintain their own motion-picture

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 143

theaters. The official films of the committee were turned over
to Mr. Sevier, the Compub commissioner. In the larger cities
they were shown on a profit-sharing basis in conjunction with
various charities. In the American mining towns and camps
the films were shown by the American Red Cross under the
auspices of the local chapters. At the completion of these
showings the Southern Pacific Paramount Co. released these
pictures in two or three reel lengths in ever}^ city and town
and camp having a cinema theater. These arrangements
offer a greater money return and a more complete distribu-
tion than am^ other method possibly could.

CHINA.

Mr. Wilbu.r B. Hart, arriving in Shanghai, found that
distribution of our official film through established theaters
was not feasible inasmuch as less than 2 per cent of the
entire attendance w^as Chinese. Notwithstanding this, Mr.
Hart made contracts up tc and inchiding February 15 for
the distribution of the official films through the existing ex-
changes.

An official benefit for the war-fund drive was given early
in Xovember, after which Pershing's Crusaders was released
the early part of December at the Olympic Theater at Shang-
hai and was later shown at Tientsin and Peking. The other
features followed in succession.

During December our films were released for the Red
Cross war drive and for some Young Men's Christian Associ-
ation showings, in the interests of charity and other worthy
causes. During January Mr. Hart was authorized to turn
over all films and equipment to Minister Eeinsch, as the
committee contemplated no more shipments of official films.

HARBIN AND VLADIVOSTOK.

Our work in Russia was facilitated by the hearty coopera-
tion received from the Tokyo embassy, and all American
enterprises such as the Red Cross, the Young Men's Christian
Association, and the military and naval associations.

144 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

During the early summer of 1918 shipments went forward
to Russia of approximately 68 reels of neAvs pictures and 59
reels of industrial film.

In July, 1918, American motion pictures were shown in
Harbin for the aid of the Red Cross. These programs were
thereafter sent out on the Manchurian circuit, as far as the
Russian border to the west, and later to the eastern points,
and were also put at the disposal of the Young Men's Chris-
tian Association for showing at the various clubs.

Subsequently, arrangements were effected during August,
1918, to supply Russia with full eight-reel programs, and
shipments were made to Harbin of feature dramas, comedies,
educational, and industrial films comprising more than 30
programs. On all this commercial film we obtained from the
producers the exclusive rights in these territories for the pe-
riod of the war.

We likewise made shipments of all our following official
pictures, Commissioner BuUard detailing Mr. Charles Philip
ISTorton to superintend distribution.

The Russian exhibitors had a great desire for comedies,
which proved a means of introducing effectivel}?^ the heavier
and official films in the program.

Under orders of Commissioner Arthur Bullard motion pic-
ture headquarters w^ere moved from Harbin to Vladivostok,
the center of east Siberian motion-picture trade. Mr. Bul-
lard sent Mr. H. Y. Barnes to Ncav York with a strong rec-
ommendation that complete equipment for an efficient labora-
tory be immediateh^ purchased and sent to Vladivostok. This
plan was approved, and accordingly two carloads of equip-
ment were shipped to Vladivostok comprising the folio wing-
material : Six 6-B cameragraphs ; 6 delco light plants ; mono-
plane lamps, rewinclers, motors, etc.; 2 motion-picture film-
printing machines ; 6 motion-picture rheostats; 6 screens.

This laboratory gave full titling facilities for all subjects
sent, and was immediately followed by a large shipment of
industrial subjects, educational, agricultural, and mining-
films.

In the meantime our New York office communicated with
a great many industrial concerns in the United States, ask-

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 145^^

ing them to donate their industrial films for distribution
through our laboratory at Vladivostok, Russia. The major-
ity of them consented very gladly.

HOLLAND.

For exploitation in Holland we secured approximately
370,000 feet of commercial film from all the leading fihn
producers, who granted us the exclusive rights to use these
pictures in Holland during the period of the war. This
enabled us to make up 50 eight-reel programs.

In addition to this commercial film we shipped our full
set of official releases.

Mr. Llewellyn E. Thomas, representing the Film Division,
upon arrival at The Hague, cabled requesting more raw stock
and advising that the Germans were furnishing laboratories
and exchanges with raw stock, thereby endeavoring to control
their distribution. We also received a cable requesting short
subjects, such as one or two reel comedies and short scenic
subjects. Mr. Thomas further advised that he could use 1,000
assorted carbons, due to the great scarcity of carbons other
than those of German make. In response to his cable we
subsequently shipped 200,000 feet more of raw positive stock.

Our shipments to Holland have comprised 306,000 feet of
dramatics, 52,000 feet of comedies, 12,000 feet educationals,
and more than 30,000 feet of official releases, also 92 reels of
news pictures.

Early in November our official film, America's Answer,
was displayed to all the Dutch military and naval officers in
The Hague. It received a tremendous ovation and was after-
wards released every day throughout the territory.

MEXICO.

Our film activities in Mexico were handled personally by
Commissioner Eobert H, Murray, who covers operations in
his report. He received our official pictures, 10,000 feet of
raw stock, and also large shipments of commercial film.

121033—20 10

"146 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

PERU.

The motion picture theaters were found to be crude and
unsatisfactory. The greater portion of the Peru population
is Indian and entirely illiterate. Railroads reach some of the
more important mining and agricultural sections, but a vast
amount of this territory is reached by burro through moun-
tain trails.

The distribution of motion pictures for Peru, Bolivia, and
Ecuador made through Lima, Peru, is based on an elaborate
system worked out by an organization there. Mr. C. N.
(xriffis, commissioner of the committee, and one of the best
informed men regarding this country as a field for motion
pictures, was the editor of the only English weekly on the
west coast and is head of the American Society. Mr. Hand-
ley is the American consul general at Lima. Mr. Griffis, with
the assistance of Mr. Handley, took charge of our official
films.

Arrangements were consummated for the showing of the
films in Peru through the Peru chapter of the American
Red Cross, which will show these pictures in each of the cities
and towns having a Red Cross branch. The net profits will
be divided Avith the committee. After the Red Cross has
played these towns, the films will be turned over to the only
important distributing corporation in the country, the Im-
preso de Teatros y Cinemas Limitada. The latter has agreed
to play the films in every city and town having a cinema
theater (26 towns and cities with a total of 34 theaters).
This gives us over a period of time 100 per cent distribution
and as large an income as can possibly be secured.

Bolivia has five towns in which we consummated the same
arrangement as in Peru.

Ecuador likewise has eight towns in which the same ar-
rangement for distribution was effected.

SWITZERLAND.

On July 1, 1918, the Swiss film problem was delegated to
an allied committee, whose purpose it was to control all
allied film in this territory. All film contracts drawn up by

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 147

the Swiss exhibitors were made under the supervision of this
committee, one of the stipulations being that a certain per-
centage of allied propaganda should be shown by the ex-
hibitors. The Committee on Public Information guaranteed
the exclusive rights in Switzerland on all American dramatic
films. Twelve of the leading film exporters in New York
supplied us with 64 prints of dramatic features, comedies,
and educationals. In addition to this commercial film we
made shipments of 5 prints, or 33 reels, of our official film.
This made a total of 228 reels shipped. We also forwarded
15,000 feet of raw stock. Film shipments w^ere stopped with
the signing of the armistice.

During December, Mr. Charles Hart, who made a careful
study of the Switzerland conditions, cabled advising that
one of the most reliable film companies in Switzerland de-
sired to acquire all of our commercial film: We accordingly
drew up a new standard contract for a five-year lease with the
purchaser, Louis Ador, son of the President of Switzerland,
and the sale w as made of all our commercial film. Financial
arrangements of this sale w^ere such that we were able to
satisfy the producers. This transaction closed the film activ-
ities of the committee in this territory, and gave promise of
considerable exploitation of American film in Switzerland,
through Mr. Ador's agency.

FOREIGN PICTURE SERVICE.

As has been explained, there was not only need in foreign
countries of American war films and " entertainment pic-
tures," supplied by the Division of Films, but we needed also
pictures showing the social and industrial progress of
America, the life of the country, its achievements, etc. Mr.
Jules Brulatour, one of the leaders of the motion-picture in-
dustry, vohmteered for the Avork, assisted by Lieut. John
Tuerk, and under his able supervision Government depart-
ments, manufacturers, educational institutions, States, and
cities, were induced to contribute film. Every known subject
was gathered from traction plowing to a steel plant, from
lumbering in Oregon to an East Side school, from making an

148 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

automobile to coal mining,
and Lieut. Tuerk were :

The shipments of Mr. Brulatour

Countrj-.

Argentina, Buenos Aires

Azores Islands

Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. . .

Chile, Santia2:o

China, Shan<?hai

Cuba, Habana

Denmark, Copenhagen. .

Egypt, Cairo

England, London

France, Paris

Greece, Athens ,

Holland, The Hague

India, Calcutta

Ireland, Dublin ,

Italy, Rome

Japan, Tokyo

Mexico, Mexico Cifc}'.

Norway, Chris tiania

Peru, Lima

Philippine Islands

Russia:

Archangel

Harbin

Vladivostok

Siberia

Switzerland, Perne

Spain, Madrid

Sweden, Stockholm

Total

67h

24
139
112.1
138

24
112

40
218

92
647

42
420
144
863
322

43 1,

139
554
598
195
352
492
357

6,200i

The division made shipments of positive and negative raw
stock as follows:

Country.

Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. ,

Chile, Santiago

China, Shanghai ,

Denmark, Copenhagen,

Prance, Paris

Holland, The Hague.
Mexico, Mexico City . .

Peru, Lima

Russia:

Archangel ,

Harbin^

Vladivostok

Sweden, Stockholm

Switzerland, Berne

Total

Footage.

Positive.

12,915
10,000
24,000
24,915
652, 960
299, 982
20,000
600 '

64,996 '
16,545 '
100,000 :
59,500 ;
8,000

1,294,413 :

This division acted as the shipper for the Foreign Film
Bureau, and we have accordingly included in the above foot-
ages all film consigned by them for shipment to their foreign
film commissioners.

KBPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 149

It supplied the Young Men's Christian Association with
521 reels (521,000 feet) for use in Eussia, 150 reels (150,000
feet) for use in Italy, and 51 reels (51,000 feet) for use in
France.

It shipped projection machines, accessories, complete equip-

ment, etc., to the following countries:

China, Shanghai 1

Mexico, Mexico City 2

Russia 16

Its shipments to Itsdj include :

Italian post cards, showing American scenes 1, 081, 010

Italian post cards, showing Czecho-Slovak scenes 925, 574

REPORTS FROM FOREIGN COMMISSIONERS.

It is regrettable that space can not be taken to give the
report of every commissioner in full, but it is felt that the
complete presentation of a few, as examples, will make suffi-
ciently clear the nature of the committee's activities, the prob-
lems encountered, and the achievements.

Report on the Work in Mexico.

[By RoBEET H. Murray, Commissioner.]

By order of George Creel, chairman of the Committee on
Public Information,- the Mexico Section of the Committee on
Public Information was created on March 1, 1918, continuing
until February 15, 1919.

With the exception of a few sparsely settled and remote
points, operations extended throughout the entire Eepublic.
Representatives of the committee were stationed in every city
and important town in the country. When the armistice —
the date upon which the work of the section was at flood
tide — Avas signed on November 11, 1918, the Mexico Section
had 222 individual correspondents, who covered 165 points.

For purposes of this report the operations of the Mexico
Section may be divided broadly under the following heads :

General. Motion pictures.

Organization. Still pictures.

Newspapers. School and reading room.

Literature. Miscellaneous.

.150 REPORT COMMITTEE 01^ PUBLIC INEORMATIOlsT.

GENERAL.

In the beginning, elements confronted the Mexico Section
which rendered its task peculiarly difficult and, to a certain
extent, unique. With the possible exception of Spain, in no
other country outside of Mexico did the German propaganda
attain such vigor and proportion, and nowhere was it waged
with more determination and vicious mendacity. Events and
conditions which it is unnecessary to recapitulate had caused
the people and the Government of Mexico to become highly
responsive to overt or covert propaganda directed against the
United States and in favor of Germany. The people, espe-
cially the masses, reacted favorably almost to a unit to the
specious and insidious endeavors of the Germans to deceive
them into believing that the triumph of the arms of the
United States spelled menace and disaster to Mexico, and that
a German victory would insure for them and their country
every manner of political and economic benefit.

Thus the German propaganda thrived upon fruitful soil.
It appealed to a ready-made, receptively sympathetic audience.
Nevertheless, as the writer prophesied early in February,
1918, in a resume of the Mexican situation which he furnished
to Chairman Creel, the German propaganda up to that time
had not been successful in creating anything substantial or
lasting commensurate with the effort and money expended.
Nor did it later. This was proved Avhen, as a result of the
defeat of the German military power, the German propa-
ganda in Mexico collapsed almost overnight, leaving nothing
save a faint and rapidly disappearing impression upon the
Mexican public to show for the expenditure of more than four
years' time and intensive effort and at least 10,000,000 marks
in German money. The German propaganda failed in
Mexico, as elsewhere, because, as a writer in the Journal of
the American Chamber of Mexico expressed it in the Novem-
ber number of that publication :

It is, and always has been, a propaganda of Ues. Because it deals
exclusively in lies. Because it is composed of lies. Because it is
organized and managed by arch liars who work with intent to lie and
to deceive. But the German propaganda has failed principally because,
in the long run, truth will beat lies every time.

EEPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOBMATION. 151

Whatever success the Mexico Section attained may be at-
tributed, in the main, to the fact that it dealt from the begin-
ning to the end exclusively in truth. Its soje mission in
Mexico was to tell the Mexicans the truth, not only about the
United States, why it went to war, what it was doing in the
war, and what the real attitude of the people and of the
Government of the United States was toward Mexico, but
also what German militarism actually stood for, what the
conduct of German statesmen, soldiers, and sailors had been
in the war, and what were the sinister aims of the Kaiser and
his accomplices toward democracy and free Governments of
free peoples.

The fight to win Mexico, or at least to obtain for the com-
mon cause an adequate hearing before the Mexican people,
was essentially our fight. And this quite regardless of what-
ever interest any other nation embattled against the Germans
might have held in the way of impressing their cause and
their point of view upon the Mexicans. That the Mexican
fight was our fight became apparent from the fact that it was
only from the day we declared war that the German propa-
ganda in Mexico really began to flourish. The Germans were
cunning enough immediately thereafter to play upon the
anti- American string. That was their best asset in Mexico,
and they omitted no effort or expense to capitalize and
profit by it.

This had been going on for almost a year when the Mexico
Section was created. The Germans had organized well. For
the most part their propaganda was financed by loans made
to the German minister in Mexico by wealthy German com-
mercial houses and individuals. These provided the minister
with unlimited funds in Mexican currency ^vith which to
corrupt public sentiment in Mexico, and which they loaned
upon drafts upon the German Government. In passing it
may be said that none of these drafts have yet been paid. No
source of revenue of this nature was available to the Mexico
Section. The only financial support, with one exception,
which this office received from American nationals was in-
direct. It came through newspaper advertising from Ameri-
can business houses, which was provided for the support and
encouragement of legitimate newspapers, who championed
the cause of the United States and of the Allies. This move-

152 REPORT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFORMATION.

ment, although it was originated before the Mexico Section

came into being, was latterly revived and placed upon a more
effective basis through the influence of this office, with the
assistance of various members of the American Chamber of
Commerce of Mexico, notably William L. Vail, Esq., who
volunteered to take charge of the Avork. This office and its
work are indebted to Mr. Vail for his patriotic activities.

Details of the operation of the propaganda of the enemy
are not germane here. They did not differ materially from
those employed in every neutral country. The basis of their
work was conventional, practical, and sound. Upon that,
however, the}^ had reared a structure of falsification, misrep-
resentation, and chicanery. It was upheld, on the j)art of
those among the Mexicans whom they drew to their support
not because of conscientious conviction by the supporters of
the justice of the cause which they were espousing, but solely
for that they were paid for what they did with copious
moneys dealt out by the German information service. Au-
thenticated documents from the records of the German in-
formation service which are in possession of this office show
that the Germans were paying subsidies aggregating nearly
$25,000 United States currency monthly to 23 newspapers and
periodicals, besides supplying them Avith free paper and an
alleged " cable " service made in Mexico. At a conservative
estimate the press activities alone of the Germans in subsidies,
paper, telegraph service and tolls must have cost them not
far from $50,000 United States currency monthly.

It is a significant fact, and one which redounds to the credit
of the reputable, honorable journalists of Mexico, that dur-
ing the war there was not a single newspaper or periodical in
the Republic which pleaded the German cause that was self-
sustaining. All were subsidized with German gold. On
the other hand, there was not one pro-American ally news-
paper or periodical which was not self-sustaining. The
Mexico section, directly or indirectly, did not subsidize any
publication.

When the work of this office began the Germans had the
field virtually to themselves. With rare exceptions the news-
papers which were not avoAvedly pro-German gave the cause
of the United States and of the allies languid and indifferent
support. Largely, the fault for this condition was ours. Un-

REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 153

til we started our work no organized, adequate, authoritative
channels for obtaining information regarding the purposes
and the acts of the United States at war were available to
newspapers or individuals who were inclined, to be friendly.
The reverse was imi3ressively. emphaticall3^ and, to us, re-
proachfully true, so far as the Germans were concerned.

But this initial handicap was speedily overcome. From the
outset it was assumed that the Mexican press and public, or
at least that portion of it which was not debauched by Ger-
man money and German lies, was fair and receptive. This
was almost instantaneously proved. We worked always in
the open. Official notice was served upon the Mexican Gov-
ernment of the establishment of the offices of the committee
in the Cit}^ of Mexico and of the purpose of the committee in
extending its operations into Mexico. We hid nothing from
public view. There was nothing to hide. Incidentally this
principle was laid down and maintained to the point that the
director felt free to declare, and still does declare, that there
is not a document, record, payment, or act of the Mexico Sec-
tion which is not open to the full and unrestricted scrutiny
of any person in or out of Mexico.

From the beginning this office stressed the fact, and gave it
the widest proper publicity, that the Mexico Section spoke
and functioned officially for the Government of the United
States, and that the Government of the United States stood
back of every statement contained in every cable report or
piece of literature issued by us. Our challenge of responsi-
bility for word and deed, both on behalf of our Government
and of this office, was not once questioned or accepted by
those who opjDOsed us.

It is a source of deep satisfaction to be able to report that
regardless of the obviously difficult field in w^hich we were
forced to operate and the manifold opportunities which pre-
sented themselves for complications which, had they de-
veloped, would inevitably have bred embarrassments both
for the committee and for our Government, the Mexico Sec-
tion was fortunate enough to conclude its labors without fric-
tion Avith any of the Federal, State, or local authorities of the
Republic. One can not escape the conclusion that this was
due largely to the truthful, conservative, responsible, open-
and-above-board policies adopted. These policies, while

154 REPOET COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION.

rigidly adhered to, did not in the least lessen their aggressive-
ness, energy, and success of the work. Fundamentally, we
did all that the Germans did, and more. But we did it dif-
ferently and decently.

Our sole mission was to inform the people of Mexico. It
has been said that we did this adequately. All things con-
sidered — the remoteness of many of the populous parts of the
Republic from our headquarters in the City of Mexico, the
regrettable delay in commencing our work, the vast numerical
preponderance of the illiterate over the literate among the
population of Mexico, their latent antagonism to, and sus-
picion of, the United States, and the modest sum available
for the purposes of the committee in Mexico — one feels that
inspection of the record of the Mexico Section may safely be
invited from any critics, friendly or unfriendly.

The director was fortunate in being able to surround him-
self with a corps of assistants — Americans for the greater
part, but including Mexicans, British, Russian, and French —
who gave him efficient, loyal, and patriotic support. He owes
much to them, and he takes pleasure in acknoAvledging that
obligation with deep thanks. The always constructive, ap-
preciated, and helpful interest and cooperation of the Ameri -
can ambassador, Henry Prather Fletcher, Esq., contributed
immeasurably to the success of the work of the committee in
Mexico. Enthusiastic and invaluable aid was also rendered,
almost without exception, by the members of the consul corps
of the United States in Mexico. Equall}^ important service
was given by volunteer correspondents in all parts of the
Republic, who included not only Americans, but Mexican
citizens and .nationals of substantially every country on earth
which either militantly or sentimentally was aligned on the
side of justice and democracy against despotism and ruth-
less force.

Two dominant facts stand out clearly as a result of the ex-
perience of the director in the past 11 months. One is that
much was accomplished in acquainting the people of Mexico
with the power, the resources in national crises, the right-
eously militant spirit, the ideals, the underlying altruism of
their neighbors to the north. The obvious reply to this, of
course, is that, considering the close geographical, commer-
cial, and political ties of the two countries, the Mexican

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 155

people should have known all this before. Which is quite
true. But they didn't. It had never been the business of any-
one to enlighten them systematically, purposefully, and truth-
fully. The other fact is that much of permanent benefit to
the United States and Mexico could and should be built upon
the foundation laid by the Committee on Public Information.
The United States never more thaii at present needed inter-
pretation to the people of Mexico. Never were Mexicans in a
more inquiring and receptive mood.

Ground has been prepared which we should not, in justice
to ourselves and our responsibilities in Mexico, leave untilled.

Two expressions of judgment upon the work of the Mexico
Section may properly be included in this report. The first
is in the form of a resolution adopted by the American Cham-
ber of Commerce in Mexico, as follows :

Resolved, That this chamber commends in the highest terms the
work accomplished by the Committee on PubUe Information In Mexico
under the direction of Mr. Robert H. Murray, it being its judgment
that a decided change for better in the attitude of the Mexican people
has been brought about through its efficient work.

Resolved, That copies of the resolution be sent to the American
ambassador, American consul general in Mexico, Mi'. George Creel,
chairman of the Committee on Public Information in Washington,
and to Mr. Robert H. Murray, director of the^ Mexican section.

The second is an editorial published in La Prensa, a daily
newspaper printed in the city of Puebla, on December 24,
1918.

WOKK OF THE FOEEIGN INFORMATION AGENCIES DURING THE EUROPEAN WAR.

A'aried and contradictory were the notices which during the ter-
rible European w^ar were circulated by the foreign information agencies
established in the capital of the Republic, news emanating from the
battlefields according to the events occurring and sent to Mexico
from the very countries at war. The effect of all this on the various
parties is past history, each group wishing success for the side they
sympathized with. The time is also past of uneasy expectation on
the part of neutral nations, who anxiously followed the inarch of
events as given out by the respective agencies and who, while regret-
ting the bloodshed and destruction of war, thought ns they still do.
uneasily about the future of the world in respect to commercial rela-
tions and that state of peace wdiich w^as to form a league of nations.

Now that the great struggle has been solved by an armistice which
will lead to the basis of a lasting peace ; now with the disappearance

156 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

of the powerful empire of the autocratic and warhke German Kaiser,
wlio carried destruction and extermination into France and Belgium,
and that the European nations breathe freely a^>ain ; and now, also,
that we can appreciate present events, as deductions from the past
great battles, we see clearly that the reports of some foreign agencies
were not true as to the course of events in the theaters of war. since
w^e remember that for many days after the Gei-niaii failure and the
abdication of a conquered ^^'ill^am IT, the pro-German papers and
agencies continued to deny these events for a puipose the ultimate
end of ^vhlcn Avould be ridicule, as actually happened in the case of
these agencies.

We must confess, however, b.ecause facts have so proved this, that
the agency in the capi at of the Committee on Public Information of
the United States Govv ^-nment in charge of IMr. Robert H. Murray,
never diverged from the rruth and never tried to altei* tlie telegrams
vrliicli it received, whether they were favorable or adverse to the
nation to which it belonired. Its ]'epoj-ts were an exact statement
and a truthful one oi events, and its straightiorv/ard conduct must
be valued for its ti'ue ^^'orth. if we remembc-r those days of anxiety,
of expectation and of worry as to the results of the world struggle
which had no equal in the centuries.

AVe have always relied upon the reports issued by Mr. Murray's
agency; we always received them with pleasure and entire conhdence
and in repeating them to the public as received we invaribly did so
with the conviction of truth bearers as to the tei-rible events happen-
ing overseas in which all Europe was involved.

ORGANIZATION.

The organization of the Mexico Section was arranged by
subdivisions, according to the nature of the work. To the
director fell the general executive functions. Next in author-
ity came the office manager, Mr. Arthur de Lima, followed
by the managers of the Editorial Department, Motion Picture
Department, the Still Picture Department, the Beading
Room and School, and the Mailing Department. Each de-
partment had the necessary corps of translators, editors,
teachers, clerks, stenographers, messengers, and office boys.
At no time did the entire force of the executive office exceed
40 persons. Salaries ranged downward from 100 pesos (sub-
stantially $50 United States currency), which was thehighest
paid. Our salaries as a rule were lower than paid for similar
service by commercial houses. Preference in employment, so
far as possible, was given to American citizens.

REPOBT COMMITTEE 01^ PUBLIC INFORMATION. 157
NEWSPAPERS.

The supplying of newspapers with cable news, special
articles, cuts, matrices, etc., was handled by the Editorial
Department. The expenses and labor of this department
were increased by the necessity of translating all matter into
Spanish. Nothing in English was sent out for use in Mexico.

Thanks to the cooperation of Compub in New York, an
excellent and carefully selected general war news service
which ran as high as 1,000 words daily, according to the
importance and interest of the occurrences at home and
abroad, was received in the City of Mexico by cable, via Gal-
veston. Translators reduced the cables to Spanish. Copies
were transmitted by messenger or land telegraph wires to 31
newspapers, 9 in the capital and 22 in the interior. In many
instances the newspapers gave the committee's cable service
preference in display to despatches of their own special cor-
respondents, or those of regular news agencies. At frequent
intervals the newspapers in the capital issued extra afternoon
editions on the war news furnished them by the committee.

Implicit confidence was placed upon the authenticity of our
news — so much so, in fact, that several newspapers which had
been printing the alleged news despatches of the German
information service abandoned them and instead used those
of the committee.

It was notorious that the German news service was fabri-
cated in Mexico and that the Germans did not receive a word
of cable news from without the Republic. German agents
stationed at border points, notably Nuevo Laredo and Juarez,
rewrote cable news clipped from the United States ncAvs-
papers and stolen from news bureaus' and special corre-
spondents' dispatches sent to Mexican newspapers, distorted
them to suit the purposes of the Germans, and distributed
them to their dupes and subsidized newspapers as " special "
cable or " wireless " messages.

Approximately 4,433,000 words of our daily cable service
were distributed to the Mexican newspapers during the 11
months of the existence of the Mexico section. Mimeo-
graphed copies of the daily dispatches were prepared and a
total of 35,000 of them were distributed in the City of Mexico
among business firms, which displayed them in show win-

158 REPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOBMATIOH.

dows, to the foreign legations, Mexican Government ofRcials^
and individuals.

Spanish translation of special articles prepared by the
F'oreign Press Bureau of the committee in New York, and
made suitable by careful editing and revision for the Mexican
field and the limited space of the newspapers were sent daily
to the 65 newspapers and periodicals on our list. The record
shows that nearly 60 per cent of this material was used. On
an average of 300 articles monthly, or 3,300 in all, were
distributed." The suppl}^ was not equal to the demand, the
same being true of cuts and matrices. Of the latter more
than 2,000 were used.

To the newspapers also, supplementary daily news letters
(virtually a complete telegraphic service) were mailed, the
total being 178,000. For the benefit of persons outside of
Mexico who were interested in Mexican affairs it was deemed
expedient, and within the functions of the committee, to issue
a weekly news bulletin in English. In this bulletin ap-
peared only matter relating to official Mexican (jovern-
ment activities and topics connected with reconstruction,
industry, development, etc. This was sent by mail to 1,000
individuals and firms in the United States. Eighteen edi-
tions were published with a total circulation of 20,000.
The bulletin met with appreciative reception and com-
ment from hundreds of persons among those who received
them, including Members of the United States Congress,
the Librarian of Congress, and other officials of our Govern-
ment and corporations and individuals having investment
interests in Mexico. Requests for this bulletin were received
in almost every mail and from parts as distant as England,
Canada, and Japan. Franking privileges were granted by
the Mexican Government for both the news letter and the
English bulletin.

Several months before the war closed it was found ad-
visable to issue a weekly publication devoted exclusively to
the interests and war activities of our Government. This
bore the title "America in the War." It consisted of 16 illus-
trated pages, well edited and attractively arranged and
printed. Its success was instantaneous and it developed into
one of the most effective elements of our educational cam-
paign. Especially was it valuable in inspiring and maintain-

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 159 '

ing interest and enthusiasm among our correspondents, and
bringing them more intimatelj^ in touch with this office. Of
"America in the War " more than 100,000 were circulated in
weekly editions of from 4,000 to 5,000 copies. We also
bought and distributed not far from 500,000 copies of vari-
ous publications containing special articles in support of the
cause of the United States, or throwing light upon the
friendly attitude of the United States toward the Mexican
people and Government.

The end of the war apparently brought no cessation in the
demand for the news and other material which it had been
supplying. Until the office closed, and after, requests for
articles, pamphlets, etc., were daily received, to which, it is
to be regretted, we were unable to accede.

Mr. George F. Weeks was manager of the Editorial De-
partment.

MOTION PICTURES.

It goes almost without saying that among a population in
which illiterates unfortunately predominate, motion pictures
possess an enormous influence as a medium for conveying
impressions and creating sentiment where the printed word
is without value. In Mexico the motion-picture films' proved
to be one of our greatest assets. The pictures " got over "
and won converts to our cause where other mediums would
inevitably have failed. Our motion-picture campaign was
successful. But at first it was up-hill work. German agents
saw to it diligently in the beginning that displays of war
pictures of American soldiers, in the camp or in the field, of
our preparations in every branch of our mobilizations of the
industrial, military, naval, and social forces which the Gov-
ernment brought to bear in the conflict, met with an uproar-
ously hostile reception from the audiences to which they were
shown. Frequently the police were summoned to restore
order. Complaints to the authorities were made by our
opponents that our pictures were inciting riots, and that the
screening of portraits of the President, Gen. Pershing, and
other notable personages, and of the American flag floating
at the forefront of marching troops or at the masthead of
naval units constituted an insult to the Mexican Government
and people and were in violation of Mexico's neutrality. On

160 REPORT COMMITTEE OJST PUBLIC INFORMATION.

various occasions our displays were halted until the local
authorities could be convinced by tactful explanations, and
by private exhibitions given for their benefit, that the pic-
tures might properly be allowed on view.

Gradually the demonstrations in the cines lessened, and
finally ceased. The pictures won their way. The attitude
of the public altered until after a few months we were repaid
for our persistence by reports from our agents, telling of
cheering and applause in place of hoots and yells, and even
of " vivas " being given for the flag, the President, American
war vessels, and American soldiers.

American industrial films, with which we were freely sup-
plied, aroused a disappointing volume of interest. The
public appetite would be satisfied with nothing less tame than
actual war pictures or commercial films telling stories to
Germany's discredit. Measurably successful exhibitions of
the industrial films were given in the open air, in schools,
and before selected audiences.

On the circuit organized by the Motion Picture Depart-
ment our films were shown in 68 houses throughout the
Republic, and to audiences which, according to our carefully
kept reports, aggregated 4,500,000 persons.

Dr. M. L. Espinosa was manager of the Motion Picture
Department.

STILL PICl^IJRES.

Effective work was made of the still pictures sent us from
Washington. Boards were provided which had space for 12
pictures, each with an explanatory caption in Spanish. The
boards were attractively made and painted and bore in Span-
ish ^' The Committee on Public Information, Mexico Section,"
in addition to printed cards, which were frequently changed,
with educational references to what the United States was
doing in the war. These pictures were changed weekly. The
boards were exhibited in shop windows and other conspicu-
ous places. They amply supplemented the appeal of the mo-
tion pictures, and, probably to the same extent as the latter,
impressed through the medium of the eye the might and re-
sources which the United States arrayed against German
military despotism. Altogether there were displayed in this
manner 116,256 separate still pictures.

Mr. L. Kuhn was manager of the Still Picture Department.

REPORT COMMITTEE OlSl PUBLIC INEORMATIOlsT. 161

SCHOOL AND READING ROOM.

Tavo experiments which Avere approached with a degree of
-caution and doubt — our Eeading Eoom and School in the
City of Mexico — proved to be among the most successful and
effective branches of the work. The Eeading Eoom was
designed as a popular center for general dissemination of in-
formation. It became all of that and more. Quarters were
'Obtained in a large shop at Gante, 10, one of the most fre-
quented thoroughfares in the business heart of the capital.
Appropriate equipment of tables, chairs, etc., was provided.
With flags, bunting, pictures of American and allied nota-
bles, posters, etc., the room was attractively decorated. Files
were kept of the Mexican newspapers and periodicals and also
of the principal American newspapers and illustrated maga-
;zines.

An abundant supply of Spanish printed literature, includ-
ing all of the publications of the committee, was available,
both for reading and on the premises and for distribution.

Our daily cable news was displayed on bulletin boards,
inside and outside of the Eeading Eoom. Free toilet con-
veniences, a dressing room for women, telephone, and writing
paper were included in the equipment. From the beginning
the Eeading Eoom was patronized to capacity day and eve-
ning. The visitors came from all ranks of citizens, artisans,
laborers, shopkeepers, professional men, women, flocking
there for enlightenment as to the issues and ])rogress of the
war, and to exchange views on the situation. Spirited dis-
cussions took place. Several times weekly lectures or talks
upon the war, the United-States, Mexican affairs, and kindred
topics were given. Occasionally the discussions were illus-
trated by motion pictures. During the 7^ months in which
the Eeading Eoom Avas open the number of visitors, by actual
^ count, totaled 106,868.

Encouraged by the reception given the Eeading Eoom, it
Avas determined to take advantage of the widespread demand,
indicated frequently among the visitors, to open a school for
instruction in English. A shop adjoining the Eeading Eoom
was rented, and furnished with desks, benches, and black-
'■boards. The esthetic element was not neglected, and flag,

121033—20 11

162 REPORT COMMITTEE OlsT PUBLIC INFORMATION.

bunting, and pictorial adornments rendered the room attrac-
tive and inviting.

From the initial session the capacity of the school was
taxed. English was the most eagerly sought for study, but
French, bookkeejping, and stenography classes were well
patronized. A corps of teachers, volunteers or paid, labored
diligently, intelligently, and successfully. Instruction was
free and many pupils were drawn from institutions where
tuition fees were charged because, as they said, more prac-
tical and effective teaching was given in the committee's
school than in the others. The zest of the pupils to acquire
English was amazing. Their curiosity regarding the Gov-
ernment of the United States, its history, art, literature, and
the customs of our people was evinced to a degree which the
management, owing to the limitations imposed upon it, found
difficult to satisfy.

In age the students ranged from boys and girls of 16 to
elderly men and women. The working classes predominated.
With few exceptions those who entered studied hard and
persistently. Uninterested pupils were weeded out, and their
places given to the more ambitious and serious applicants.
When the school closed 1,127 individual pupils were regis-
tered. The total school-day attendance was nearl}^' 30,000.
Sixteen English classes were in operation with an average
of 96 pupils, eight classes in stenography with an average
of 65 pupils, two French classes with an average of 103 pupils,,
and four special English and two special classes with an aver-
age of 12 pupils.

No one who watched the operation of the school and ap-
preciated hj observation the zest of the students to learn P]ng-
lish and the sympathetic mental trend toward the United
States inspired among them in the process could fail to re-
gret that the classes might not have been continued per-
manently, and that some arrangement might not be made for
extending on a larger scale throughout Mexico what the com-
mittee accomplished in an experimental way in the capital.

Through the efforts of the section six reading rooms were
established and successfully conducted outside of the capital,
in Guadalajara, Vera Oruz, Aguascalientes, Leon, Durango. .
and Irapuato.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOlSr. 163

Mr. J. B. Frisbie was manager of the Eeading Eoom and
School.

LITERATURE.

In this department the chief difficulty encountered was not
to find channels and outlets for carrying the Avord to the
people, but to obtain enough material with which to satisfy
their demands. We distributed a total of 985,000 pieces of
literature of all descriptions — pamphlets, posters, folders,
postcards, not counting between 50,000 and 75,000 Liberty
loan and other war posters and half-tone windoAV hangers,
consigned to us from Washington and New York. Not less
than 75 per cent of our correspondents filed repeat orders for
substantially every shipment of literature sent them. It was
impossible to meet all of thefee requisitions. Double the
amount of literature could have been circulated had it been
available. Travelers constantly brought us word of having
seen in remote places copies of the more popular of the x^am-
phlets, President Wilson's Fourteen Points, his address to the
Mexican editors who visited him at the White House, his war
speeches to the Congre^, a condensation of Brand Whitlock's
story of Belgium, the circumstantial accounts of the German
atrocities, and Prince Lichnowsky's pillorying of his Govern-
ment for precipitating the war, which had been passed from
hand to hand and read and reread until the pages were in
tatters.

In general, the literature was circulated in two ways — by
the correspondents in their respective districts and by mail
directly from headquarters. A mailing list was prepared
which contained nearly 20,000 names of professional men,
Government officials, school-teachers, merchants, clergymen,
labor leaders, farmers, and others in the middle and higher
walks of life. Many hundreds of letters were received from
the persons who received literature expressing their thanks,
asking for more, and not seldom inclosing the names of
friends to whom they wished pamphlets mailed. So far as
possible, pamphlets were prepared which contained matter
calculated to appeal especially to sundry classes, such as
workingmen, the clergy, educators, etc. Whenever the text-
permitted, they were embellished with illustrations.

164 EEPORT COMMITTEE Ol^T PUBLIC mFORMATION.

Posters were eifective, and we used them freely. Care was
taken to phrase them tersely and simply.

No literature was issued anonymously. We officially stood
sponsor for everything. Each piece of printed matter bore
the imprint of the committee and the slogan of the office:
^'The War: Remember, The United States Camxot Lose!"
Constant and indefatigable reiteration of this phrase even-
tually elevated it to the dignity of an impressive and con-
fident prophecy. It was effective^ — so much so that for a
time it enjoyed ephemeral life as a popular catchword in the
streets and on the stage of the capital. In their heyday the
Germans made it the subject of sarcastic jest.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Mexicrm Editors. — At the suggestion of the director, in
June, 1918, a party of 20 representative editors and journal-
ists of Mexico visited the United States as guests of the com-
mittee. The importance of this enterprise, in the way of get-
ting before the reading public of the country information
concerning the part which was being taken b}^ the United
States in th_e war, the American spirit, our wealth and power,
the vastness of our domain, and its potentialities, and the real
attitude of the people and the Government toward Mexico,
through the medium of skilled observers equipped with first-
hand knowledge, can not be overestimated. The chairman,
Mr. Creel, in a recent magazine article has adequately sum-
marized the effect of the visit of the Mexican editors as
follows :

It was interesting to watch the change in pubUc opinion in Mexico
as our educational effort began to stril?:e hard against German lie and
anti-American prejudice. What really clinched the victory, however,
was the visit of a score of Mexican editors to the United States as
guests of the Committee on Public Information. We took them from
coast to coast, letting them see with their own eyes and hear with
their own ears, and having them received by the President, who
marked the occasion by a memorable address. We sent them back to
Mexico convinced not only of our friendship, not only of the justice
of our cause, but equally convinced of America's might and deter-
mination.

Liberty Loan Oampaigns. — Cooperating with the Ameri-
can ambassador, an American citizens' committee and the

BEPOKT COMMITTEE 01^ PUBLIC INFORMATION. 165

American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, this office did
its share toward making the third and fourth Liberty loan
drives a success in Mexico. Through the machinery of the
section Liberty loan posters and literature were obtained
and distributed. Under the auspices of the committee two
rallies were held in the American Club in the City of Mexico,
at which were present as guests of honor all of the Allied
diplomats accredited to the Mexican Government. Enthusi-
asm was stimulated at these rallies b}^ exhibitions of the
committee's war films, and subscriptions aggregating
$300,000 were obtained from among the audiences.

War Savings Stamps. — The section aided in encouraging
the sale of war savings stamps by distributing literature.

United War Wo7'h Campaign. — The organization of the
section was placed at the disposal of, and utilized by, the
committee which raised Mexico's quota of the United War
Work fund.

Liberty Truth Committee. — This committee, composed of
representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in
Mexico, and operating in close cooj)eration with the section,
aided vitally in our newspaper campaign by obtaining ad-
vertising appropriations from American business concerns
for the legitimate encouragement of newspapers and other
publications which supported our cause.

Advertising. — The section bought and used freely adver-
tising space, plainly marked as such, in newspapers and
magazines. Its appropriation for this purpose was inade-
quate, but profitable reaction resulted from what expendi-
tures it was able to make. Especially effective was a series
of full-page and half-page advertisements announcing the
heavy oversubscription to the fourth Liberty loan whicii
Avere printed to counteract the intensive and desperate efforts
of the Germans to delude the Mexican public into believing
that the American people had repudiated the war through
failure to subscribe the full amount of the loan.

Buttons. — A trial shipment of 50,000 celluloid buttons
bearing the flags of the United Stntes and of the Spanish
American Republics which entered the war against Germany,
and the legend "Allied in Honor," proved so popular that
100,000 more were obtained. The end of the war rendered it
unnecessary to continue this distribution although at least

166 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HSTFORMATIOIiJ-.

a half million additional buttons would have been required to
fill the orders which poured into the offices of the section.

Traveling Representatloe^iio long as the work warranted ^
a traveling representative of the section was kept constantly
on the road visiting correspondents, ^ascertaining the needs
of their particular districts, directing the work in the field,
and serving as a personal link between headquarters and those
who aided the committee in the interior. In his work he
traveled over two-thirds of the Republic from the northern
states to Yucatan and between the Gulf and the Pacific
coasts.

The Work i^s^ France.
(By James Kerney, Commissioner.)

(Note.— In addition to intelligently employing all possible
agencies for the sustaining of the morale of the French peo-
ple, the headquarters of the committee in Paris was the
clearing house for the diffusion into the allied, neutral, and
enemy countries of Europe of fullest information, compati-
ble with military considerations, regarding the activities of
the American Naval and Expeditionary Forces as well as
the American war effort at home. The work was under the
direction of James Kerney, editor of the Trenton Evening
Times, wdio went overseas in February, 1918, remaining until
shortly before the signing of the armistice.)

France was naturally badly nerve racked following the
military reverses of 1917. An aggressive defeatist offensive,
aimed directly at America, had been made during the winter
of 1917-18. The constant air raids and shelling of the big
gun, coupled with the proximity of the enemy in the spring
fighting, served to intensify the anxiety in Paris during the
spring and early summer of 1918. This was reflected in the
unrest and uncertainty existing everywhere in the industrial
plants engaged in producing war supplies. " Can America
get here in time to be effective ? " was the ever-present query.
In this situation it was highly desirable that an energetic
and convincing educational campaign as to our progress and
aims should be speedily launched. The press, magazines,
universities, lecture platforms, moving pictures, posters,

REPORT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC USTFORMATION. 167

leaflets — all were emplo^^ed in making known our grim de-
termination, as well as our capacity, to see it through.

An efficient staff, including newspaper and magazine writ-
ers, university and other lecturers, translators, and clerks,
was quickly assembled. I was given the fullest cooperation
at all times by Gen. Pershing, Admiral Wilson, and Ambas-
sador Sharp, each of whom has paid a generous tribute to the
-committee's accomplishments in France.

At first the Paris offices were at 37 Rue Laperouse, but
when, in June, the Arm.y headquarters were removed to the
Elysee Palace Hotel, space was assigned the committee in
that building. This greatly facilitated the work. An office
was also provided for us in the Maison de la Presse, the
official propaganda division of the French Ministr^^ of For-
eign Affairs. At all times the most cordial relationship was
maintained with the information sections of the British,
French, and Italian Governments.

Associated with me were : Martin Egan, at General Persh-
ing's headquarters: M. Firman Eoz, of the University of
Paris (Sorbonne), and Herbert Adams Gibbons, the princi-
pal lecturers for the committee; Madame Edith Bagues, an
American, who acted as executive secretary; Wilmot PI.
LeAvis, in charge of press matters and who likewise served
as liaison officer with the French propaganda officials ; Edgar
B. Platrick, who supervised and planned moving and still
picture productions ; Frank Fayant and Maximilian Foster,
press representatives of the committee at Great Headquarters
and the fighting front, respectively; Frank M, Mansfield
and A. M. Brace, news editors; Claude Berton and M. Beryl,
French journalists and translators; besides the stenographic
and clerical force. James H. Hyde, an American residing
in France, by reason of his wide and favorable acquaintance
in French governmental, university, and journalistic circles,
rendered the cause a voluntary service of inestimable value.
The Marquise de Polignac, also an American, was likewise
a very useful volunteer on the staff. Hugh Gibson, First
Secretary of Embassy, was loaned to the committee for a
part of the time by the State Department, and, as occasion
demanded, the personnel included Army officers specially
'detailed to serve under Maj. A. L. James, jr., who, for

168 BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIdST.

several months, as chief of the Press and Censorship Di\d-
sion of the Intelligence Section, had offices immediately
adjoining those of the committee in Paris. Maj. James,
representing the General Staff, gave the committee the
most complete cooperation, as did his immediate superior,.
Gen. Denis E. Nolan, chief of the Intelligence Section, and
likewise Gen. Edgar E. Russell, chief of the Signal Corps.

In so far as it was practicable, with the already over-
burdened wires, the Paris office sought to link up the folks
at home with the Army each day by relaying to Great Head-
quarters and the various bases in France copies of the daily
wireless service from America (containing about 1,500
words summarization of the news), which service was like-
wise furnished, for the accommodation and comfort of the
soldier, to the Paris editions of the London Daily Mail, the
New York Herald, and the Chicago Tribu^ne, as well as the
Stars and Stripes. All of these publications made liberal
use of this home news, and so much as was available was
translated into French and published in both the Parisian
and provincial press.

This service was also transmitted to the bureau of the com-
mittee at Berne, Eome, Lisbon, and Madrid, supplemented by
a daily service telling of the activities of the American forces
on the fighting front. The news reports from the front were
written by the representative of the committee attached to
the press headquarters in the zone of advance, and, in addi-
tion to being sent to the above-named capitals, were wired to
London for distribution in Great Britain, Holland, and the
Scandinavian countries, as well as to South America.

In order to get an adequate presentation of work of prepa-
ration that America found necessary, before troops could
be landed and fought to the best advantage and in keeping
with American standards, it was necessary to overcome some
drastic existing French censorship regulations. When I had
formulated a program for the work in France, I talked
it over with Gen.' Pershing, Premier Clemenceau, and Capt.
Tardieu, head of American relations for the French Govern-
ment. They gave the program their entire approval, and
M. Clemenceau promptly had the French censorship rules
so modified as to freely permit of the publication of the

REPORT COMMITTEE OIsT PUBLIC mrORMATION. 169

Story of "America in France," without so localizing it as to
give infOTmation to the enemy. Leading writers for the
French n^agazines and reviews, with illustrators, as well as
many famous journalists, accepted invitations to visit the
American work, and the publications were soon crowded
with the remarkable accomplishments of our Army and
Navy. This liberal treatment of the w^ork continued until
accounts of the glorious conduct of the troops at the fighting
front produced the finest propaganda that ever appeared in
^iij country. I personally visited the newspaper publishers
of the big provincial cities, and these powerful journals ac-
corded America the same generous and enthusiastic treat-
ment as Avas given by the Parisian press. Writers from
Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, and the Scandinavian
countries were brought to France and shown over the sectors
in which the Americans Avere operating and the reports they
published were exceedingly useful in their effect not only in
their home countries but upon the civilian morale of Ger-
many. This was particularly the case Avith the publication
of American news in SAvitzerland, AAdiich occupied the most
adA'^antageous position in the matter of enemy propaganda.
Photographs of the American work and of the American
fighters Avere supplied in great quantities, through the Sig-
nal Corps of the Army, and Avere likeAvise dispatched Aveekly
to the committee's representatives all over Europe, Avith the
result that American pictures and American news filled the
rcAaeAvs and journals everywhere.

The production and distribution of still photographs and
moving pictures Avas of major importance. In addition to
the Aveekly shipments of photographs to London, Berne,
Home, Madrid, Lisbon, and other points, moving pictures
Avere sent for use in the goA^ernmental and commercial cinema
houses. The first big production of exclusively American
films was entitled "America's AnsAver to the Hun " and was
assembled by Edgar B. Hatrick, who spent six months Avith
the committee supervising the motion and still picture work.
The initial showing of the film Avas made at the Gaumont
Palace, Paris, June 26, 1918 — the first anniversary of the
landing of our troops at St. Nazaire. It was witnessed by
practically all of the members of the Senate and Chamber

170 REPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC mFORMATION.

of Deputies, the diplomatic representatives of Great Britain,
Italy, and Japan, as well as many of the allied military and
naval chiefs, and v^as given a mighty reception. This film,
in four reels, depicted the protection afforded by the Ameri-
can Navy to transports, disembarking of troops, our con-
struction and installations at ports and along the lines of
communication right up to the fighting front, the ambulance
and supply services. It concluded with a number of scenes
showing the American fighters in action at Chateau Thierry,
and one section of the theater was reserved for wounded
doughboys from the hospitals in and about Paris. Columns
of space were devoted to the event in the newspapers of
France and England, and copies of the film were promptly
sent to all the allied and neutral countries for showing there.
The big commercial producers, Gaumont and Pathe, ar-
ranged at once to send it into all their houses in France,
and it was used most successfully among the troops, in fac-
tories, universities, schools, etc.

THE LECTURE CAMPAIGN.

One of the most enduring features of the work was the
s.ystem of university and university extension lectures that
was carried on throughout the spring and summer of 1918.
Shortlv^ after my arrival, I met the presidents of all of the
French universities and presented to them a plan aimed at
combating the wide-spread anti-American propaganda
throughout France, by making known the spirit and extent
of America's part in the war. These lectures were further
framed to put the story of America's greatness, in some per-
manent form, into the minds of the local leaders of thought,
as well as into the ininds of the people. The committee
was able to get into personal touch with more than 200 quali-
fied lecturers, furnishing them with literature and documents,
as well as lantern slides, with the result that practically every
part of France was reached. The presidents of the universi-
ties gave their heartiest cooperation and 150,000 copies of a
pamphlet containing a summarization of American informa-
tion was distributed to the school teachers. The university
presidents, together with the Ministry of Public Instruction,

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 171

agreed upon M. Firman Eoz, of the University of Paris, as a
man most eminently fitted to inaugurate the American lec-
tures. Mr. Eoz, together with some other university repre-
sentatives and writers, was taken over the American lines of
communication and supplies, as well as to the front lines.
The series of lectures began at the Sorbonne on May 24,
M. Lucien Poincaire, brother of the President of the Repub-
lic, presiding. Immediately after this initial lecture M.
Firman Eoz began his tour of the universities, speaking at
Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseille, Grenoble,
Chambery, Lyon, Bjon, Besancon, Caen, Eennes, Poitiers,
and Claremont-Ferand.

These lectures gave America much publicity in the provin-
cial press and had an especially good influence on the edi-
torial columns. The presidents of the respective universities
had invited to the lectures leading professors from each
town in the educational district under the control of the
university. In this wa}^ the university extension lectu.res
were developed, the local professors organizing lecture cen-
ters. A complete list of these lectures was kept in Paris and
fresh literature, giving the latest information about
America, regularly mailed to them. Local lectures were also
given in many of the big provincial towns, the committee
receiving fine cooperation on the part of American consular
representatives. Through the consulates, everywhere,
printed matter was distributed and in the larger centers such
as Havre, Cherbourg, Marseille, Nantes, Tours, St. Nazaire,
Lyon, Boulogne, Franco- American demonstrations, includ-
ing lectures and production of movie films, were provided.

At the urgent request of the French Minister of Munitions,
lectures on the American participation in the Avar were
given in the various industrial plants in France engaged
in manufacturing war supplies. The purpose of these lec-
tures was to stem the unrest that was constantly cropping up.
These lectures were given by Dr. Herbert Adams Gibbons. At
the same time the film "America's Answer to the Hun " was
shown. Both the French Government officials and the
manufacturers pronounced this work as highly valuable in
its effect on the industrial situation. The proprietors and
managers of the big steel and munitions plants were brought

172 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

together in Paris on July 5, the meeting being presided
over by M. Loucheur, Minister of Munitions, who dwelt
upon the importance of the lecture and cinematographic
work of the committee in France.

Dr. Gibbons's first lecture in this unique course was at the
factory of Louis Renault, where aeroplane motors, motor
trucks, tanks, cannon and shells were being produced. The
lecture was given twice in this plant, being recorded both
stenographically and on the phonograph in order that it
might get the most complete distribution among the 25,000
employees. M. Renault subsequently declared that this ex-
position of America's part insured his plant against any
labor disturbances for at least six months. The film was
shown and the lecture given in all of the large plants
engaged in the manufacture of war materials throughout
France. Upwards of 100,000 copies of the lecture were
printed at the expense of the manufacturers for distribu-
tion among their employees.

On the invitation of the official French Propaganda Bu-
reau, Dr. Gibbons spent several days lecturing in the mining-
country and, at the instance of the same organization, went
for 10 days into Alsace, explaining the American situation
to the populations of the reconquered regions and, in turn,
explaining the Alsatian question to the American troops
occupying sectors on that front. Dr. Gibbons, Avorking in
conjunction with the Marquise de Polignac, arranged for
the distribution among the peasants of France of 100,000
copies of a special leaflet, and otherwise rendered worthy
service by reason of his knowledge of the country, resulting
from his long residence there.

The committee likewise cooperated with the ministries of
labor and of agriculture and in conjunction Avith these de-
partments of the French Government, several hundred thou-
sand posters were put out, together with many leaflets. Alto-
gether the committee, directly, and in association with the
French Government, distributed more than 1,000,000 pam-
phlets, posters, and leaflets bearing on America.

Besides the pamphlets and leaflets specifically noted above,
the committee published a French translation, in booklet
form, of the report of the first year's work of American

EEPOET COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC IKFORMATION. 173

preparation, 10,000 copies being distributed among the news-
papers and through the American consuls and the numerous
French propaganda agencies. Upward of 200,000 copies of
a special resume of the American effort were put out in the
month of July; and as the news and opportunity presented,
other thousands of brochures and posters were distributed.

EDUCATING THE ENEMY.

For the first five months that the committee operated in
Paris there was close cooperation with the French bureau
having directly in charge the dissemination into Germany
and among the German troops of facts to combat false in-
formation regarding America. Shortly after he opened his
offices, I had assigned to me by the Intelligence Section of
the A. E. F., Lieut. Harry A. Franck, who was familiar
with the German language and conditions and who kept
in touch with the French Department of Enemy Propa-
ganda. Despite the difficulties resulting from the lack of
adequate aeroplanes, there was at all times a reasonable
flow into Germany of facts, printed in German, regarding
America and American ideals. The newspapers from Ger-
many were carefully watched and their misrepresentations
were met with tracts and pamphlets, sent over the lines both
by plane and balloon and dropped on the cities. It was the
practice of the German press, for example, to so distort the
speeches of President Wilson as to give an entirely erro-
neous meaning to the excerpts used. This character of de-
ception was overcome, as far as possible, by the immediate
flooding of Germany, from the air, with pamphlets giving in
parallel columns the German version and the correct version
of the speech, the portions altered or deleted b}' the Germans,
in their original publications, being emphasized. The Ger-
mans had kept up, both at home and in France, a terrific
propaganda that our participation was all " Yankee bluff,"
and the committee kept diligently hammering away to offset
these charges in both countries. It was the opinion of the
French governmental chiefs that the most effective method
of reaching the German civilian population was through the
Swiss newspapers, printed in German, and every effort was
made to keep the Berne office of the committee fully sup-

174 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOlsT.

plied with American information. That office, under the di-
rection of Mrs. Vera B. Whitehouse, was doubtless the great-
est single factor in getting the story of America into Ger-
many.

With the enormous influx of American troops and the
victories along the Marne, it became apparent during the
month of June that, for diffusion into Germany, informa-
tion regarding the United States had a preponderant value.
The French bureau was reorganized and Commandant
Chaix, a thorough-going business man, placed at its head.
A most efficient equipment was assembled, and the docu-
ments were given a genuine German appearance as to paper,
type, typesetting, and the fine points of German diction.
The printers were German prisoners chosen for this par-
ticular task. For the troops special matter was prepared,
according to nationalities. The military authorities, as soon
as the presence in certain trenches of Jugo-Slav, Polish, or
other elements, or of German troops from disaffected dis-
tricts, was notocl^ at once conveyed the information to the
end that material specially designed to appeal to these respec-
tive forces might be dispatched.

At the end of June and during early July, when some of
the German newspapers began to wake up to the fact that
there really was more than a million American troops in
France and that they were most desperate fighters, there
appeared articles indicating war weariness and hints that
all might not be going so well on the western front. This
material was quickly reproduced in Paris and spread among
the German troops. It was along in July that the first
genuine effects of the enemy propaganda were felt. On
July 18 a conference of heads of the British, French, Bel-
gian, and American services was held in the office of the
committee. It was the frank consensus of opinion that the
j)lace for concentrated effective work was in front of the
American lines, then shortly to be very greatly extended.
Gen. N^olan, Maj. James, and Capt. Mark Watson of the
Intelligence Section, A. E. F., attended the conference, and
soon thereafter a special group of experts, under the immedi-
ate direction of* Maj. James, took over the American end of
the work.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 175

The Work In Holland.

(By Henry Snydam, Commissioner.)

Holland must be regarded as having offered the main ave-
nue of attack upon the public opinion of the German masses.
It was not, like other neutral countries adjacent to German
territory, the scene of international conferences or sinister
outside influences, but presented a clear and homogeneous
field for the dissemination of information. The informa-
tion provided was therefore designed to gain direct circula-
tion in Holland, but the content was always chosen with re-
gard to the ultimate effect on the German masses.

The general problem confronting the Committee on Pub-
lic Information in the Netherlands was two-fold: (1) To
enlighten Dutch public opinion with regard to the fairness
and detachment of the United States, as well as to provide
an adequate picture of American war effort as a factor in in-
ternational affairs, and (2) to use Holland, as far as that
might legitimately be done without committing a belligerent
act, as a means of approach to all classes of Germans, who
were to be convinced that the United States was strong, and
would use that strength for the common good. The effort
M'as to obtain facts emphasizing these points, and to present
these facts to Dutch and Germans with due force and preci-
sion.

The broader details of these problems, with their solution
and the nature of achievement, were as follows:

1. NEWS DISTRIBUTION.

When my work in Holland began, the Dutch press —
through which the German press maintained a large degree
of contact with the United States — was Avithout adequate
American news. American editorial comment appeared in
the Dutch press when it furthered the peculiar interest of
some foreign news agency, and not otherwise. American
news was selected by these agencies for interested reasons.
Renter and Havas were, in the opinion of Dutch editors,
nothing more than the mouthpieces of the British and
French Governments, and, as such, little better, in effect, than

176 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

the German Wolff Bureau. It Avas perhaps unavoidable^ but

none the less unfortunate, that many of the earlier of Presi-
dent Wilson's speeches reached the Germans first through
these agencies. With the cooperation of John Work Gar-
rett, American minister in The Hague, I never ceased to in-
sist that these speeches should reach the Germans first either
through an American or Dutch source. In two or three in-
stances the text of such speeches was telegraphed direct to
me, and distributed to a Dutch news agency which either
telegraphed the text direct to the German press, or handed
it to German correspondents, who telephoned it to their news-
papers, as notably in the case of the Frankfort Gazette. The
Frankfort Gazette was the organ of the Eeichstag majority
parties, and publication of the President's speeches therein,
in correct text, some hours previous to publication in the
semiofficial German Government organs, such as the North
German Gazette and the Cologne Gazette, forced them to
publish accurate, unaltered versions. This method not only
purveyed them to the German masses without outside inter-
ference, but often had the effect of forcing the German
Government to issue the full text. When the method was
finally adopted of issuing the President's speeches on the
American wireless, the text appeared fully and quickly in
both Dutch and German press, and the question was solved.

Although Renter's Telegraph Agency offered very great
and very unstinted assistance at all times, I felt that, how-
ever irreproachable its motive for the common cause, it had
identified its service too exactly with the British Govern-
ment to be of exclusive value to the United States in a neu-
tral country, and therefore although I did not discriminate
against it, I saw no reason why Keuter's should be favored
over the two Dutch agencies. These were the HoUandsch
Nieuwe Bureau (The Plague) and the Persbureai! M, Yas
Dias (Amsterdam), and although the former especially was
under some susj^icion as having too close German connec-
tions, I felt that its full use for our own purposes was justi-
fiable, especially as it was the one Dutch news service of
consequence. A regular service of American news, selected
by the Committee on. Public Information in New York,
under my constant correction and advice, was telegraphed

REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INEORMATION. 177

to me daily, together with a special service from general
headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces. Both
of these services were edited and issued, in various forms
and through various means, direct to the Dutch press. I
fu^rthermore purchased a daily copy of the American news
wireless from a Dutch receiving station, and issued sections
of these items to such Dutch agencies as did not operate a
wireless receiving station, and, in many instances, to Eeuter
•as well.

Although there w^ere no Dutch newspaper men in the
United States, all the larger Dutch dailies maintained men
in London and Paris. It was my plan to have these men in
close touch with American official sources of information in
those capitals. I, therefore, gave a dinner on May 23, 1918,
in the mess of the American Embassy in London, to the
four Dutch editors resident in England (representing
Meuwe Eotterdamsche Courant, Handelsblad, and Telegraaf
of Amsterdam, and Nieuws van den Dag of The Hague).
There were present representatives of the American Army
and Navy and of all other departments of the Government
functioning in England, all of wdiom expressed willingness
to provide information for the Dutch editors on demand.
From letters subsequently intercepted by the censorship, I
learned that the effect of this entertainment on the Dutch
editors was to give them a new conception of Americans
and Americanism.

The advantage thus gained was quickly followed up. On
June 5, 1918, I escorted Dr. Peter Geyl, editor in England
of Nieuwe Eotterdamsche Courant, and Mr. E. W. de Jong,
editor in England of Handelsblad (Amsterdam) to Queens-
town for an inspection of the American destroyer base, en-
gaged in convoy and antisubmarine work. Upon returning
from Queenstown, the correspondents had a long interview
with Admiral Sims. On June 14, we arrived in Paris, pro-
ceeding thence to the French coast at St. Nazaire, and fol-
lowing the American lines of communication to the front in
Lorraine. Thus the representatives of the two most impor-
tant newspapers in Holland had followed the course of an
American soldier from the moment his transport was picked

121033—20 12

178 KEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

up by the convoys until lie had arrived in a front-line
trench. From this trip, which was one of the first excur-
sions of neutral editors to the American front, and the first
of any neutrals to the American fleets, there resulted 19 long
telegrams and 8 mail stories in the Dutch press, all of which
were copied extensively in the German press, and thus pro-
vided the first independent neutral testimony of the size of
American effort. The interview with Admiral Sims on the
success of our antisubmarine measures provoked much pro-
test from German naval experts, and Mr. de Jong's tele-
gram, "The American phase of the war has begun," was pro-
duced in all the im|)ortant German newspapers and circu-
lated by the semiofficial Wolff Bureau.

It is interesting to note that Mr. A. G. Boissevain, editor
of the Handelsblad (Amsterdam) stated- to me confiden-
tially about August 1, 1918, that when Mr. de Jong's figures
regarding the size of the American establishment in France
were published, both the German foreign office and the
general staf! summoned the Berlin correspondent of the
Handelsblad and demanded to knoAv whether Mr. de Jong
was the type of man who would allow himself to be bought
by the American Government. It v^as apparent that the
German authorities were simply staggered at the direct
revelations made as the result of this excursion, which I re-
gard as one of the most important single contributions of
our whole work in the Netherlands,

Arrangements were later made for the Dutch editors in
Paris to make similar trips, under the auspices of the Paris
office of the Committee on Public Information.

To summarize, then, our solution of the problem of pro-
viding adequate American news to the Dutch press, through
Dutch or American sources, I was able to accomplish the
following: (1) To provide direct telegraphic and wireless
news and comment from the United States to Dutch news
agencies and newspapers; (2) to establish contact between
Dutch editors in Great Britain and France with American-
news sources, and, furthermore, (3) to maintain close per-
sonal contact with the more important Dutch editors in
Holland; and (4) later to issue, in the form of a daily
bulletin, translations of the more significant news items and

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIO INFORMATION. 179

comment appearing in the American press during each 21
hours — a service that was sent regularly to some 76 Dutcli
newspapers. Through these means I was not only able to
reduce the suspicion of Dutch editors of American news
served through interested British or French sources and
censorship, but to establish direct news communication be-
tween the two countries.

2. MOTION PICTURES.

The second most important aspect of our work was educa-
tion by means of motion pictures. Upon my arrival in Hol-
land from England, I found several consignments of very
old and unsuitable films, dealing mostly with current events
in the United States. Furthermore, there was no coopera-
tion between the British, French, and Italians. Mr. George
F. Steward, representative of the British ministry of infor-
mation in Holland, aided me in establishing an interallied
cinema committee, which functioned in connection with an
interallied blockade committee, composed of the commercial
attaches of the four allied legations.

As the Dutch exhibitors, to say nothing of the Dutch au~
diences, had been subject to war films for almost four years
when the Committee on Public Information in Holland ar-
rived on the scene, it was my conviction that only the most
unusual American war films would have effect. Moreover,
it was our opinion that straight American commercial films
of superior sort would be a new and invaluable form of edu-
cation for the Dutch public. I therefore cabled to Wash-
ington, pointing out the shortage of good allied Avar films,
together with the dangers arising from an adequate German
supply, and requesting a large consignment of straight com-
mercial films as well. As a result of this telegram, Mr.
Llewellyn E. Thomas, of ISTew York, a motion-picture expert,
was dispatched to The Hague, and .arrived with several
hundred thousand feet of war, educational, and commercial
film, all of which was sold, not given, to the Dutch exhibitors,
for the total sum of $57,340.80, with a very considerable
profit to the American producers, for whose future benefit,
moreover, an American market was thus established.

180 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOlir.

On JSTovember 4, 1918, a private performance of America's
Answer was given to the general staffs of the Dutch Army
and Navy in The Hague. The Dutch officers expressed them-
selves as greatly impressed, and many in the audience showed
their appreciation by rising when President Wilson and Gen.
Pershing were thrown on the screen.

. 3. PAMPHLETS.

Although the use of the pamphlet as an educational meas-
ure had been very general in Europe during the war, I was
convinced that, for our work, the extensive printing of such
matter would be a waste of money. We issued only one
booklet — a collection of the pronouncements of President
Wilson concerning the League of Nations, comprising ex-
cerpts from his speeches and statements from February 1,
1916, to September 27, 1918. Of these, 10,000 copies were
printed, and distributed to universities, schools, public li-
braries, editors, members of both Houses of Parliament,
members of the Government, and other persons of impor-
tance. The residue, after such distribution, was sent to
various persons on the mailing list of the German propa-
ganda in Holland, a copy of which had come into my hands.

Special articles on various American subjects from Amer-
ican magazines and reviews were translated, however, and
issued to the Dutch press or to individual editors, and these,
in my opinion, were of far greater value than any cheap
pleading by pamphlets scattered about in barber shops and
bars.

4. AMERICAN LITERATURE.

There was a noticeable absence of books and magazines
in the Dutch libraries concerning American topics. Apart
from the distribution of American newspapers, reviews,
magazines, and trade publications, four complete sets of
books were obtained from the Foreign Section of the Com-
mittee on Public InfolTiiation in Washington. These books,
written by American experts in international law, politics,
history, economics, social conditions, and various other as-
pects of Americanism, were i^resented to the Nieuwe of
Litteraire Societeit, the largest club in Holland, situated in
The Hague and frequented by all important governmental

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 181

officers and business men, to the Eoyal Library in The
Hague, to the Universit}^ of Leiden, and to the State Uni-
versity of Amsterdam. There were about 25 volumes in
each set.

5. PHOTOGRAPHS.

A regular supply of photographs dealing with American
war making was received from Washington and general
headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces. These
were exhibited in shop windows in the larger cities and towns
throughout Holland. They were regularly sent to Dutch
photographic agencies and published in the Dutch illustrated
press. The Dutch agencies also sent them to German agen-
cies in Berlin and Vienna, and many of them were printed
in the German illustrated journals.

6. COUKTER PROPAGANDA.

The German Government — whether the Imperial Govern-
ment before the armistice, or the Republican (JoA'Crnment af-
terwards — maintained a very elaborate organization on
which the evidence shows that millions of marks were ex-
pended. It was, of course, impossible for me to fight such
an organization with its own weapons. Frequent attacks,
however, were made on the United States, either by means
of deliberate lies or perversions of the truth. These were
constantly contradicted in the Dutch press b}^ means of spe-
cial information telegraphed from Washington, at my re-
quest, from the department of the Government concerned.
The German propaganda fell into well-recognized lines of
policies, such as questioning the intellectual sincerity of
American war aims, belittling our physical effort, and at-
tempting to corrupt relations between the allied and asso-
ciated governments. We Avere able to fight the Germans
along these same lines, and by insisting, time after time, on
a given point, to induce them ultimately to abandon the ges-
ture as worthless.

7. INTELLECTUAL CONTACT.

The German so-called " intellectual propaganda " in Hol-
land was' very effective. Prof. Hans Delbrueck, professor in

182 EEPORT COMMITTEE OlsT PUBLIC INFORMATION.

the University of Berlin, and leader of a group of German
Moderates, made frequent excursions to Holland, for the pur-
pose of lecturing at the universities, and talking with promi-
nent Dutchmen. He was usually accompanied by Kurt
Hahn, a young German educated in England, who was be-
lieved to provide the lines of attack to the German " intel-
lectual propagandists " in Holland.

This form of German propaganda was very successful.
Although my remedy for this — the establishment of a two-
year lectureship at the University of Leidan in American
history, held hy a prominent American academician (cf.
my report dated London, April 8, 1918, section 2) — ^was
not adopted, we were able to make considerable progress.
Lieut. Leonard van Jfoppen, U. S. N. E. F., former Queen
Wilhelmina professor of Dutch in Columbia University,
and assistant naval attache at The Hague, was of very
great service in reaching the intellectual aristocracy of Hol-
land. I myself made it a point to know as many im-
portant Dutchmen as possible, to meet them frequently,
and to set them riglit, in short conversations, on many
points of American policy which they professed to mis-
understand. John C. Wiley, second secretary of the Ameri-
can Legation in The Hague, and Paul L. Edwards, com-
mercial attache, were of very great assistance in this dif-
ficult work.

8, C0]STACT WITH THE LEGATIOjST.

It was a settled policy to act in very close cooperation
with the legation, and more especially with. Mr. John W.
Garrett, the minister in The Hague. As the Committee on
Public Information was the mouthpiece of the United
States Government in Holland, I considered it of the ut-
most importance to acquaint myself with the general busi-
ness of the legation as far as it affected relations between
the two countries. Although the Committee on Public In-
formation was a separate organization, I maintained close
contact with the diplomatic situation as conceived by the
legation, and in return received the advice and assistance
of the minister. Our relations were always most cordial,
and both of us were able to perform services for the other
which ordinarily would have lain outside our regular duties.

REPORT COMMITTEE OIsT PUBLIC INFORMATION. 183

Through the kindness of the minister in allowing us to
install a motion-picture projector in his residence, we were
able to reach many of the most influential members of the
Dutch Government and of the allied and neutral diplomatic
corps who otherwise would never have been available for
our motion-picture educational campaign.

Up to the time of the arrival of Mr. Llewell^ai E. Thomas,
to take charge of the motion-picture campaign, in October,
1918, it was impossible to obtain assistance in my work.
After Mr. Thomas' arrival, he engaged himself in many
activities which he was able to serve in addition to his mo-
tion-picture work, and I can not recommend him too highly
for his ungrudging, assistance.

In conclusion, I wish to state that the work of the Com-
mittee on Public Information in Holland was designed to
show to the Dutch, and, as might be, to the Germans, what
Americanism, as a moral force in operation, really meant.
My work started at a very critical time, when neither the
dignity of President Wilson's position, nor the strength of
our Americanism that supported it, was credited either in
Holland or within the German borders. The details of Avhat
was accomplished remain a matter of record. In giving to
the Dutch public an array of facts through American
sources, we appealed to both their reason and sentiment — not
through a blatant |)ropaganda but through restrained pre-
sentation of the truth — to a degree which I venture to hope
will have some lasting effect on the good relations between
the Netherlands and the United States.

Hekry Suydam,
Commissioner for Holland,

Work in Switzerland.

(By Vie A B. Whitehouse, Commissioner.)

German propaganda had been developing in Switzerland
for 30 or 40 years and was conducted by a corps of trained
' experts. It was common gossip that there were between 800
:and 1,200 German diplomatic representatives, a large major-
ity of whom were said to be active in propaganda.

184 REPORT COMMITTEE O^T PUBLIC mPORMATION.

Their policy was to buy or subsidize Swiss newspapers
and news agencies and leave them under the Swiss directors.
They also had a system of paying the smaller i3apers
throughout Switzerland for every paragraph or item sent by
German-owned news agencies which were published.

The motion-picture houses in German Switzerland were
said to be either owned outright or controlled by the German
Government. The same situation applied to theaters, opera
houses, and commercial establishments. They had a very
complete, accurate, and efficient system of circularization, .
The result of their activities was that Switzerland was inun-
dated not only by pro-German propaganda, but by anti-Ally
and especially anti- American propaganda.

On m}^ arrival, I found that the Germans were maintain-
ing that America could not raise an army in spite of her
draft law, that she could not train it, could not arm it, could
not transport it to Europe and if she did, the untrained,
soldiers could not face the German heroes. They tried tO'
persuade the Swiss that America was going to invade Swit-
zerland in order to attack Germany. They agitated a great:
deal about a secret treaty which was supposed to exist be-
tween the United States and Great Britain in regard to
Japan. They tried to show our weakness at home by re-
porting that our difficulties on the Mexican border amounted
to our being at war with that country and they insinuated,
that we meant to annex it. They tried to create difficulties
between the Allies by articles showing that the Americans
had invaded France to the latter countrjrs disadvantage.
They liarpecl upon our supposed effort to steal Great
Britain's place as the leader of commerce on the seas.

I found no agency interested in presenting the American,
side. There were onl}^ a few American items sent by Havas
or Renter on subjects of general interest. The Swiss papers
and public were eager for American news.

IMPORTANCE OF SWITZERLAND AS NEWS CENTER.

The importance of Switzerland as a news center for us
was that it is the only neutral nation whose newspapers are
printed in the German language, and they had a free and

EEPORT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFORMATION. 185

large circulation in Austria and Germany. They were not
only read in Germany, but the German press quoted from
them freely. The liberal German papers especially followed
everything that was said in the Swiss papers. Getting our
news into the German Swiss press was the best way of
getting it into Germany.

There were about 20,000 German prisoners in Switzerland
who communicated with their relatives in Germany. They
also read the Swiss papers. A great number of Germans
came back and forth into Switzerland very freely and in
large numbers. Gossip and rumor circulated freely between
SAvitzerland and Germany.

As soon as I could find a few assistants I organized my
office into the following departments:

DAILY NEWS SERVICE.
[Under tlie direction of Mr. George B. Fife.]

Our service arrived early in the morning. It was re-
written in simple English, translated into French and Ger-
man and delivered to the Agence Telegraphique Suisse, the
official Swiss news agency, which distributed it for us to the
Swiss press. This agency was reported to be unsympathetic.
We found that mistakes were made in our figures and that
some times important items were overlooked. We took great
pains in confirming and reconfirming by telephone and by
letter all figures, and in order to avoid any oversight in dis-
tributing important news items, w^e, ourselves, would tele-
graph* or telephone such items directly to the papers.

The ncAvs items from our service aroused great public in-
terest and American news w^as much discussed. We believe
that to this fact is due the enormously increased use of the
Havas and Eeuter items on American events.

In August I was able to report to the Committee on Public
Information in Washington that an estimated minimum of
2,000 paragraphs of our service was being published weekl}^
in the Swiss papers.

All the President's speeches and notes were translated in
full and sent both in English and German, or English and
French, to every newspaper. Previously oiilj extracts had.
been carried by Havas and Renter.

186 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATIOIST.

The News Service Department sent weekly bulletins di-
rectly to the editorial offices of all the papers, reviewing the
American events of greatest interest of the past week, and
commenting upon their significance.

SPECIAL. SERVICES.

From the Foreign Press Bureau in New York, under the
directorship of Mr. Ernest Poole, we received special ar-
ticles and feature stories through the diplomatic pouch.
These articles we found of great value, but they presented
enormous difficulties. They had to be rewritten and edited
from the Swiss point of view and connected with events in
Switzerland, before they were translated. Until the armis-
tice negotiations began to absorb public attention, we placed
almost 100 per cent of these articles which we succeeded in
having translated. On October 8 I was able to report to
the Foreign Press Bureau that during the previous six weeks
we had records of 123 separate articles published (some had
been given exclusively to one paper or magazine, others to
agencies and had appeared in a number of papers) ; 72 ac-
cepted by papers and magazines but not yet printed ; 59 on
hand translated but not distributed ; 22 sent out to transla-
tors but not 3^et returned. Extracts from the Foreign Press
Bureau were useful as news items also, although they were
many weeks old when we received them.

This department sent a biweekly information service to
the editorial staffs of the newspapers, inckiding in this
service such material as Secretary Baker's military i*eport,
the Shipping Board's report. Navy reports on naval con-
structions, etc. Many extracts from them w^ere printed in
the press and they furnished good material for editorials.

The Mittel Presse, an agency which served a collection
of small German Swiss papers, formerly considered pro-
German, accepted a service of special articles from us three
times a week.

A number of pamphlets were issued and circulated, in-
cluding one of the Bolshevik revelations, President Wilson's
speeches, and one on America's achievement in the first
year of the war. These pamphlets were printed in com-
paratively small numbers — about 10,000 in the first edition.

REPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 187

They were distributed free to men of prominence and in-
fluence and put on sale at bookshops and news stands at a
nominal price. The sales brought no return to us.

STILL PHOTOGRAPHS.

Under the direction of Mr. Valentini Ave received from
the Foreign Press Bureau photographs illustrating some
of their special articles. We received from the Photo-
graphic Division of the United States Army photographs
of American activities in France and on the front. These
we placed successfully in illustrated magazines and papers,
but the particular use made of them was for displays in
shop windows and in small glass cases along the arcaded
streets of the Swiss cities. In October, 1918, we reported
that 1,988 enlarged photographs of 127 different kinds were
then on exhibition in 77 places in 33 towns.

MOTION -PICTURE FILMS.
[Also under the direction of Mr. Valentine.]

The Allies recognized that this was an important field of
propaganda and appointed an interallied committee to work
out a plan of cooperation. The mere report of joint action
on the part of the Allies caused one of the German-owned
companies to offer for sale their large chain of houses. In
spite of this indication of the power of the joint allied ac-
tions, the Allies could agree to no plans, except that no allied
film of commercial value should be sold except on condition
that a certain per cent of news or the propaganda film should
be shown with it. When the armistice was signed the need of
controlling the cinema situation ended. In the meantime, the
British and French disputed that American propaganda on
news films should be shown with American films of commer-
cial value, because the British claimed. that all American
commercial films were British property because the accepted
business method is to sell American films to British firms
who reproduce them in England on British material. The
French claimed they were French property because the
method of renting them in Europe was through French firms
with right, for other countries. For this reason the Com-

188 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC I]S^FORMATIO]^^^.

mittee on Public Information in Washington sent through
the diplomatic pouch directly to me about 145,000 feet, or
about 195 reels, of romantic story films of commercial value
to which we could attach American news or propaganda for
an entire American program. After the armistice we sold
at a price satisfactory to the former owners all but two of
these films. Beginning in September we received weekly con-
signment of news films from the American Expeditionary
Forces.

The failure of the Allies to act in concert had no serious
consequences, as the motion-picture houses in Switzerland
were almost continuously closed on account of a succession of
epidemics of Spanish grippe.

SWISS MISSION.

We sent a delegation of six of the most prominent editors
in Switzerland representing the six largest newspapers there
on a trip to the United States.

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

We obtained wide publicity for a message from President
Wilson sent on November 7 to the peoples of the nations lib-
erated from the yoke of the Austi'o -Hun gar i an Empire. As-
connections between Switzerland and Austria were broken
and no information could be obtained as to conditions across
the Austrian frontier, I took the message across myself.

SUCCESS.

I believe the work of the Committee on Public Informa-
tion in Switzerland was undoubtedly successful. When we
opened our office there was very little knovvdedge of the
Ainerican situation, either there or in the Central Empires.
Soon American prowess was the chief topic of comment..
The proof that our activities had something to do with this
change was to be found in the frequent comments in the Ger-
man and German Swiss press on our service. The Morgen
Zeitung, a German-owned paper in Zurich, explained that
our news service offered the only information obtainable
about the war craze that had taken hold of America.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 189

It was openly acknowledged that the United States had the
most friendly press support of all the Allies in Switzerland.

POLICY.

The policy of the Committee on Public Information was
to buy no papers, people, business, or buildings. Not one
cent went for corruption of any sort — subsidies or bribes —
or was spent in any illegal manner.

THE SWISS GOVERNMENT.

The Swiss Government in all its departments with which
my work brought me in contact was unfailingly friendly and
helpful.

RESIGNATION.

After the armistice was signed, I felt my work had been
done. I resigned and left Switzerland December 25. Mr.
Guy Croswell Smith then took charge and remained until
the office was closed, February 23, 1919.

Mrs. Norman de E. Whitehouse,

G ommissioner For Sioitzerland,

As Mrs. Whitehouse has submitted a report covering the
activities of the Berne office up to December 25, I will speak
of the continuance of the work until the close of the office
on February 28, 1919.

I completed the publication of the various booklets which
Mrs. Whitehouse had started. These were printed in Ger-
man and included " The League of Nations," President Wil-
son's speeches, and several other of the most important of
the committee's publications. They were circulated not only
throughout Switzerland but in Germany, Austria-Hungary,
and the Balkan countries.

The daily news service, weekly bulletins, and other special
information services were continued to within a few days of
our closing, and their termination was a matter of great
regret to the press of Switzerland, who had come to rely
upon our office for < authentic, unbiased American news.

190 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC IITEORMATIOISr.

Upon the announcement of the closing of our office I received

letters and expressions not only from the newspapers
throughout the country, but from Swiss Government officials,
the American Legation, and the office of the American mili-
tary attache, a few of which I beg leave to quote :

From the general manager of the Agence Telegraphique
Suisse :

We are sorry indeed to learn that the Committee on Public Infor-
mation is soon to close its office in Switzerland. Our papers will
certainly regret it, for they have highly appreciated its interesting-
news service coming directly from the United States and which
doubtless has exercised a great influence upon the cordial relations
between the two Republics.

We wish that this service might continue under some form or
other. It vrill be a great pity if the Swiss press receives its iVmerican
ne^^^s only through the channel of foreign agencies.

From William E. Eappard, professor, University of Gen-
eva, and one of the most prominent men in Switzerland :

* * * May I avail myself of this opportunity to congratulate you
on the happy results your intelligent activity has achieved? Your
office has certainly contributed to establish the good understanding
which now so fortunately prevails betw^een our two liepublics.

From the Gazette de Lausanne, February 25 :

The American press bureau which has be6n established in Berne
as a part of the Committee on Public Information closes this week.
Always scrupulously truthful, always well informed, the committee
has supplied the press and authorities of SwitzerUmd with much valu-
able information and was also a beneficent factor to aid those who
were fighting agiunst insidious Gernran propaganda. The results were
slow to manifest themselves ; nevertheless, progress was certain.

Editorial written by Swiss Middle Press News Bureau and
used in man}'^ papers :

It is stated that the American Committee on Public Information
at Berne will close its bureau and discontinue its news service on
the 22d February.

This announcement can not be passed over in silence. The Ameri-
can press service in Switzerland, as no otlier bureau vv^hich supplied
the Swiss press with ne^vs and articles, has from the start taken a
position which placed it far above the usual standard of propaganda.
In this respect it formed a counterpart to the Swiss Mission, which
not long ago went to America and was accompanied by Minister Sulzer^
because it made it its principal object to explain to the Swiss the true
conditions and intentions, of America and to' bring the two Republics

EEPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOKMATION. 191

to a better mutual understanding. Just because of this high interpre-
tation of its tasl^, it has fulfilled its purpose. As far as its activity

concerned the war, it was anything but an imperialistic war agita-
tion ; rather has it carried on only propaganda for a just and lasting
peace and thereby gained the full appreciation of Switzerland. There
is probably no State and no statesman so highly esteemed and re-
garded ^^1th so much confidence in Switzerland as the North American
Union and its President Wilson.

Guy Orgs well Smith.

Work in Italy.

(By John H. Heakley, Commissioner.)

In February, 1918, Hon. Thomas Nelson Page, American
ambassador to Italy, opened an American news bureau at
Home and named Mr. John Hearley as its director. Two
months later Capt. Charles E. Merriam, professor at the
Universitj^ of Chicago, arrived as the commissioner to Italy
for the Committee on Public Information.

Using the news bureau established b}^ Ambassador Page
as a nucleus, Commissioner Merriam opened the committee's
offices in Rome and attached Mr. Hearle}^ to his staff. After-
wards Miss Gertrude Barr and Lieut. Walter Wanger, of
the American Air Service in Italy, were added as executive
secretary and American liaison officer, respectively, both of
whom must be especially commended for efficient and loyal
service. Capt. Piero Tozzi and Lieut. Albert Peccorini
were attached as Italian liaison officers.

Under Commissioner Merriam's direction and guidance
the committee in mid-xipril entered upon its task of mass
education in Italy. The activities inaguratecl varied in na-
ture but all aimed at the instruction of the Italian people
in the meaning, method, and progress of America's v\^ar.
From the very beginning Italian officialdom exhibited a
sympathetic interest in the committee's work and aided the
committee's representatives on innumerable occasions.

Like all Europeans, the Italians were remarkabl}^ ignor-
ant of America and things American and it was early found
advisable to use a variety of channels to reach Italy's mil-
lions. The medium embraced public and iprivate prints, such
as official documents, newspapers and magazines, the speak-
ers' platform, moving pictures, photographic displaj^s and
post card, jlag, and kindred distribution.

192 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

Commissioner Merriam remained in Italy for six months,
returning to America in late SejDtember. From the time
of his departure to the closing of the Rome offices on March
7, 1919, Mr. John Hearley served as the committee's com-
missioner in Italy.

NEWS DEPARTMENT.

The news items distributed by this department were re-
ceived daily by cable and wireless from either Paris or
Washington or carried in a news feature letter called the
Poole service, which was mailed weekly from New York.
The Agenzia Stefani, Italy's largest press association, was
furnished with a budget of spot news every day. The Stcr
f ani in turn supplied this news material to its several hun-
dred newspapers and other clients throughout Italy. More-
over, these daily news items were gathered together in a
journal, mimeographed and circulated by this department.
Approximately 200 copies were mailed daily and penetrated
into military, journalistic, educational and governmental
circles.

Mr. Hearley, assisted by Mr. Kenneth Durant, directed
the news department.

A feature section was in charge of Miss Alice Rohe and
Kingsley Moses. It furnished feature articles or material
for feature articles to the Italian newspapers and magazines.

PHOTOGRAPHIC AND MISCELLANEOUS DISTRIBUTIONS.

Under the direction of Mr. Byron M. Nester, the following
distributions were made: The department of photographic
and miscellaneous, 4,500,500 post cards ; American bow pins,
Italo-American ribbons and Italo-American buttons, 154,854;
President Wilson posters, 68,574; assorted American war
posters, 66,640; American flags in paper, 200,000 ; American
flags in cloth, 30; sheet music, Star-Spangled Banner,
33,300 ; booklets containing extracts from President Wilson's
speeches, 326,650; pamphlets containing American war sta-
tistics and other information, 364,235; United States maps,
200 ; President Wilson photographs, 600 ; President Wilson
engravings, 35.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HfTFORMATIOI^'. 193

Eeprints irom American photographic displays were ex-
hibited in 3,000 Italian towns and cities. In some form or
other American educational information was disseminated
through 16,000 towns and cities of Italy by this department
alone.

SPEAKERS.

[Under the direction of Prof. Rudolph Altrocchi and Kingsley Moses.]

Through the hospitality of official and private institutions
of Italy and the Araerican Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion, speakers, representing the committee, came in contact
with all "classes" in the Italian peninsula and Sicily.
These orators carried America's message of hope and
strength to the Italian people and had large and enthusiastic
audiences everywhere.

The names appearing on the committee's list of speakers
in Italy include Dr. Eudolph Altrocchi, Chicago University ;
Congressman Capt. La Guardia ; Senator Cotillo, New York
State Legislature ; Judge Ben Lindsey ; Arthur Bennington ;
Agostino d'Isernia; Dr. Prof. Satorio; Dr. Prof. Penunzio;
Signor Poggiolini; Judge Cravates, United States judge at
Cairo; and the 13-year-old Alberto Gelpi. Besides, Pro-
fessoressa Gugliesmina Konconi, a prominent Italian social
worker, and her several associates were attached to this de-
partment. These concerned themselves with the women
workers, peasant women, and school children, holding fre-
(|uent morale and educational conferences or discussions for
them in popular halls, workshops, and farm centers.

Whenever possible, American moving pictures or lantern
slides were used to illustrate all these discourses,

MOVING PICTURES.

Lieut. Walter Wanger, E. Q. Cordner, and Herbert Hoag-

land built the machinery for handling American war, indus-
trial, and agricultural films. These films were selected and
forwarded to the bureau at Eome by the committee's office at
citlier Paris or New York and were subsequently given
Italian titles and prepared for "popular consumption" in
Italy by this department.

121033—20 13

194 REPORT COMMITTEE PUBLIC INFORMATION.

The perfected films were shown to both military and ci-
vilian populations, at the front and behind the lines. In its
exhibitions this department employed both private and pub-
lic agencies, such as Italian cinema houses, patriotic asso-
ciations, schools, Italian offices of naval and military propa-
ganda, the American Young Men's Christian Association, etc.
Once a week this department supplied the Inter- Allied
eekl}?^, a war-time Pathe of the Italian Government, with
appropriate film material for display in theaters throughout
Italy.

CONCLUSION.

Fortnightly or monthly reports, detailing the variety and

extent of the activities of the committee's representatives in
Italy are gathered in the ofiicial archives of the Committee
on Public Information at Washington.

Exhibits evidencing the committee's operations in Italy
are also on file at Washington. These include newspaper and
magazine clippings from the Italian press and periodicals,
testimonial letters from Italian official and unofficial sources,
a statistical map and specimens of the post card, pamphlet,
and picture material, distributed by the committee's bureau
in Italy,

The clippings and testimonial letters alone adequately
demonstrate that the committee's educational appeal not only
reached the Italian masses but psychologically did much
toward steadying and heartening them through a critical
period of the world war.

John II. Hearley,

Commissioner of Italy,

Work in Spain.

(By Feank J. Marion, Commissioner.)

I left Washington for Spain via Habana on November 17,
having with me the following letter of confirmation and in-
structions from the President:

14 NOVEMBEE, 1917.

My Dear Mk. Maeion : Mr. CJreel informs me that you arc leaving
for Spain and Italy at once for tlie purpose of making arrangements

REPOET COMMITTEE O^ST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 195

for such distribution of motion pictures as will acquaint these coun-
tri(\s with the life of America, our aims and our ideals.

It is ii disliiict service that you are privileged to render to your
country and the whole democratic movement, and I know that tins
will serve at once as reward and inspiration. Please bear in miiid
always that we want nothing for ourselves, and that this very un-
soUishness cari'ies with it an obligation of open dealing. Guurd
against any effect of officious intrusion, and try to express a disin-
terested friendship that is our sole impulse.
Cordially and sincerely,

(Signed) Woodkow "Wilson.

It will be noted that originall}^ the scope of my work was
limited to the distribution of motion pictures. Under iu-
structions, and w^ith the utmost leeway allowed to my owji
judgment, it expanded to embrace many other educational
methods. In the beginning, the Madrid oflice of the com-
mittee was established in that of the American naval attache.,
Capt. (now Eear Admiral) Burton C. Decker, who, front
the first cooperated witli me most cordially, and wdio gave
great assistance and unstinted support. As I had brought
with me a considerable stock of moving-picture films, show^-
ing the industrial and agricultural resources of the United
States, together with views of the earlj^ work of training our
new Army, I was prepared to start as quickly as the films
could be titled in Spanish. I attended sev^eral conferences
with representatives of the English, French, and Italian
Embassies Avho were engaged in a similar work and quickly
found that their efforts had the appearance of being handi-
capped by its " official " character. Spain, being a neutral
country, and most jealous of its neutrality, was naturally
unwilling to countenance an^^thing to which the German Em-
bassy might object, and at the time of my arrival the Ger-
man Embassy was by far the most active and aggressive in
Spain, with 70,000 German citizens well organized in the
territory and with apparently unlimited funds at its dis-
I^osal. The only moving pictures which our Allies had avail-
able were of a military character — scenes at the front, etc. —
and as they were not permitted to be shown in public by the
Spanish censorship, they were limited to private exhibition^,
hence to a very small audience, composed presumably of
persons already predisposed to the allied cause.

196 REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORM ATIOljf,

I therefore determined to get tlie American films into
the regular moving-picture theaters, and because of the
" unofficious " character of my mission I was able to get the
entire stock passed by the Spanish censors and shown
throughout Spain in the regular programs of the distribut-
ing house of Ledesma & Villeseca, the immediate work of
supervision being handled by Jose M. Gay, an American at-
torney of Filipino parentage, whom I had engaged as sec-
retary and who gave me the most faithful and efficient serv-
ice during the committee's operations in Spain. From the
theaters we expanded to the schools and colleges and finally
to open-air shows when the weather permitted. In the
latter we showed to as high as 9,000 people in one audience
and the Spanish press was imanimous and enthusiastic in
its praise. Particular success w^as made by a series of pic-
tures furnished for the purpose without charge by the Ford
Automobile Co., of Detroit.

One of the most gratif3dng features of the w^ork with
moving pictures in Spain was that there was no expense
to the distribution, except the titling in Spanish. Many
of the prints were originall}?- donated by patriotic American
manufacturers, and the expense of circulation was covered
by a small fee charged for the exhibition. I^'rom time to
time new subjects were added to the stock. At the close of
the work in February, 1919, I was fortunate in being able to
sell the entire stock of films used in Spain, and those of the
Italian office as well, to tiie Foyers de Soldats, of France, for
a price which almost covered the cost of stock and printing.

Early in February, 1918, I proceeded to Italy to inaugu-
rate the work there. Upon the arrival of Capt. Merriani,
appointed commissioner for Italy, I received instructions
to return to Madrid to act as commissioner for Spain, with
full authority to launch a complete campaign.

Back in Madrid I opened separate offices at Zurbano 14,
engaged a small staif of translators and office assistants, and
decided to supplement our films with a joress service. At
first this task seemed fated to failure. Most of the leading
papers in Spain were under regular subsidy from the Ger-
man Embassy, and I was told by my French colleagues
that space could not be secured in the Spanish press with-
out paying for it at a price per line. A very large sum was

REPORT COMMITTEE OlsT PUBLIC INFORMATION. 197

BUggested as necessar}^ to carry out the plan. However. I
was convinced that truthful news items from America vrould
be welcomed by all the progressive papers and that the sys-
tem then in vogue of sending out oilicial " coniinuniqiies
from the various embassies could only naturally result in
the material being treated as advertising. I arranged with
the Fabra press service to handle a daily service of Ameri-
can news, and it was soon apparent that my surmise was
correct. Within a short time the papers of Madrid, in-
cluding all those subsidized by the eneni}'. v/ere carrying
our service and not a cent of subsidy was paid to any
Spanish paper by the committee during my tenure of office.
However, the Fabra Agency was not ftirnishing tlie service
to the smaller papers of the Provinces which could not af-
ford to pay the telegra]3h tolls, because of the high cost of
print paper and the scai^city of advertising.

Accordingly, with the aid of the naval attache, who placed
his various secret agents throughout Spain at my disposal, I
organized my own distributing system and within a short
time had the satisfaction of seeing the entire press of Spain
printing more news from America than from the allied
countries combined.

Following the establishment of the Foreign Press Bureau
of the committee in New York my office commenced to re-
ceive regular weekly installments of special articles, photo-
graphs, posters, window display cards, etc. This material
necessitated further expansion. The special articles, pre-
pared with rare good judgment by Mr. Ernest Poole and his
associates, were placed in the hands of leading literary men
of Spain, and reappeared over the Spanish names in the best
daily and weekly publications. My chief translator, Senor
Jose Armas, for many j^ears correspondent of the New York
Herald, and Senorita Raquel Alonzo, formerly of the Gulick
School for Girls, performed prodigies of labor and' could
always be relied upon to give not only accurate translations,
but translations of a high literary style. Miss Irene Wright
was for a time typist and office manager, but resigned in
July, 1918, and was succeeded by Mr. Seward B. Collins,
who, being physically unfitted for military duty, joined my
staff as a volunteer without pay.

198 IlEPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC mrORMATIO^sT.

In the suiDmer of 1918 the work was expanded to full
force. A lecture course on American ideals was inaugurated
with Prof. M. Eomera-Favarro, of the University of Penn-
sylvania, in charge. Although interrupted for a long time
by the influenza epidemic, Prof. Romera-Kavarro delivered
lectures before universities and lyceums in most of the prin-
cipal cities of Spain and was everywhere well received.

All exliibit of an edition de luxe of the war drawings of
Joseph Pennell was started in San Sebastian in July, 1918,
under the patronage of SoroUa, the great Spanish painter,
and from San Sebastian went to most of the leading cities
of northern Spain.

In our window display work we had the invaluable assist-
ance of the Singer Sewing Machine Co., whose manager for
Spain, Mr. Adcock, placed at the disposal of the committee
the windows of 200 branch stores in Spain and without
charge to us undertook the distribution and exhibition of a
great mass of window display material. The windows of the
Eastman Kodak Co. and the Aeolian Co. in Madrid, and
{he entire store of the American Machinery Corporation in
Barcelona were in constant use for the display of educational
material. Photographs mounted in handsome frames were
extensively used and deemed very effective.

In July, 1918, we started the publication of a weekly
bulletin in English, the American ISTews, which was 'distrib-
uted free of charge to all Americans whose names we could
secure in Spain and Portugal. The purpose of this bulletin,
in the form of a snlall eight-page newspaper, was to put the
facts of our war preparations and achievements into the
hands of Americans to be disseminated by them in their -
contact with the Spanish people. The editor of this paper
w^as Seward B, Collins. The value of this publication may
perhaps be attested by the following quotation from a letter
to your representative from Hon. Thomas H. Birch, Ameri<
can minister to Portugal:

We receive regularly the copies of the American News and put
them to good use, many thanks for your kindness to this legation,
anything worth wMle we will wire promptly. I think it is a fine
idea the publishing of the American News, some items we do not get
by wireless, so I change the date and use them here as well.

REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 199

While attending the propaganda conference in Paris I
became convinced that the strongest arguments in behalf of
the allied cause were embodied in the various official utter-
ances of President Wilson, and in following that conviction,
the Madrid office of your committee used every effort to give
the widest possible publicity to all of the President's
speeches. Not only were they published immediately in the
Spanish press, but they were printed in pamphlet form as
well and sent under letter postage to upward of 10,000
prominent Spaniards. It was a matter of great gratification
to us that so accurate and elegant in its diction was our
translation by Prof. Romera-Navarro of the President's
famous " Fourteen Points " speech that it was adopted as
a literary textbook by one of the leading schools for boys in
Madrid. In the distribution of this and other material we
were greatly assisted by Senor Amato, of the Fabra Press
Agency. As a general proposition, pamphleteering had been
overdone in Spain by both the Allies and the enemy em-
bassies and we did not deem it advisable to enter to any
great extent into this branch of work. Furthermore it was
the experience of the Madrid office that Spanish transla-
tions made in America were almost worthless because of mis-
takes in idiom.

The enemy propaganda which we had to combat during
the early period of our work in Spain consisted largely of
slurs and ridicule directed against our preparations and the
probability of our taking any efficient part in the war.
These were printed in the subsidized press, but were so
worded that anyone who read could hardly fail to realize
immediately that the material originated in Prince Eath-
bor's embassy. Although the greatest pressure was put upon
me from various sources to answer these absurd misstate-
ments, I was convinced that no good would come from con-
troversial arguments with the enemy. My policy was there-
fore to either ignore them or to answer in some indirect
way. For example, when the enemy put out the charge that
our Army was irreligious, controlled by the Masonic order
and that Roman Catholic chaplains were not allowed to
wear their vestments, my answer was to secure a large pho-
tograph of a Roman Catholic mass in the open air in one
of our camps and to publish it in some of the leading illus-

200 BEPORT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFORM ATI02>r.

trateci weeklies, as well as to include it in our window
displays.

Finally, I may say that one of the most effective methods

of conducting such an educational campaign is by word of
mouth. In this work, all Americans in Spain loyally as-
sisted, but particular service was rendered by the gentlemen
of the American Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona,
headed by Messrs. Brewer, Van Tress, and Preston M..
Smith, all of whom could be relied upon to do any work
that seemed necessary in their territory. And above all, the
most effective argument was the work of our Army and
."Navy. As our campaign progressed and a delegation of
Spanisli newspaper men, under the leadership of the Mar-
quis Vallegiesias, of La Epoca, returned from our front in
France with the w^ord that we had hardly told the story of
our strength and efficiency, the pro- German tendency of
Spain began to perceptibly fade, and when Spain sent its
peremptory note to Germany regarding the sinking of
Spanish merchant ships we felt that the climax of our efforts
had been reached. Two quotations may be given as evi-
dence of the value of the committee's work in Spain. On
October 23, 1918, the Madind correspondent of the Christian
Science Monitor says :

A development of the popular attitude that has been most marked
in recent months, and has become a significant feature of Spanish in-
clination, has been a sincere, anxious, and deep interest that Spain
has begun to take in all that concerns tlie United States and es-
pecially on her productive and industrial side. * * * Demonstra-
tions by cinema pictures and in other ways of how things are do'^e in
America have been greatly appi^eciatcd. So have the object lessons of
what the Americans have been doing in the way of metamorphosis in
France in various directions. An indication of the new state of in-
terest that Spain feels in regard to American institutions, systems,
and so forth, is furnished by the long articles that continually ap-
pear about them in some of the daily newspapers, especially in the
newer journals. Lectures on similiar subjects are increasingly popu-
lar, and multitudinous papers have been read before the members of
literary and scientific institutions concerning different aspects of
American development.

In this connection it is of special interest to point out that at the
present time Sehor Miguel-Navarro, professor of Spanish language
and literature at the University of Pennsylvania, is in the country
and has been delivering some pointed discourses which have received

REPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOEMATIOIST. 201

close attention and have been reported in detail in the newspapers.
At Vigo, addressing a large gathering in the Esciiela de Artes y
Officios, the professor has just made a notable statement on the man-
ner in which Spain w^as regarded abroad, and the intellectual and
sentimental relations between her and the United States.

He said that lii his journeys in other foreign countries he had.
observed great hostility toward Spain, because foreign peoples had
interpreted her history incorrectly and spoken badly of her because
they did not know her. But in North America and especially in the
Southern States, he had found ciuite a romantic feeling of attach-
ment for Spain, due probably to the deep tracks that the Spanish
work of civilization long ago had made in that part of the country,
and where the work of their writers and savante and artists who had
been there had served to intensify that affectio-n.

A_nd on December 11, 1918, the Monitor said:

What may be called the Wilson cult is truly making astonishing
progress in Spain, as shall be shown. Three months ago the Presi-
dent of the United States was known but little to the general com-
munity. To-day there is hardly a city of any consequence in Spain
whose newspapers are not devoting innumerable colunuis to articles
upon his career, his views in general, and his present actions, with
occasional personal details.

I take the liberty of attaching a summarizing report in
the form of a letter from Capt. (now- Rear Admiral) Bur-
ton C. Decker. Finally, may I be permitted to add that in
recognition of the work of the committee in Spain your
representative was honored by being elected to membership
in the Royal Academy of Arts and Science of Spain, of the
Columbian Society of Spain, and to the Centro Cultural
Hispano-Americana, of which he was named the American
delegate.

Frank J. Marion,
Commissioner for Spain,

Work in Denmark.

(By Edwaed V. Riis, Commissioner.)

When I arrived in Denmark I found great need of propa-
ganda work. There was nothing like an adequate conception
of America's motives, the goal we sought to attain, what we
w^ere capable of doing under pressure of great necessity and
what our participation and final triumph would mean to the
small nations of Europe. When our work ceased, Denmark

202 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIOIN".

understood us as never before. Our educational work had
been carried into every nook and corner of the kingdom.
The spirit of America had been photographed for the Danes
by word of mouth, by written article, and by picture so that
they saw us clearly and comprehended us. I found them
looking through glasses darkly. We left them with a new
vision of oar peojole, our activities, and the lofty principles
which governed us.

Our material was published in every publication of any
imj)ortance in the land. We had our pictures displayed in
towns which had never seen American war pictures. We
won powerful newspapers to our side; we made people our
lasting friends, for we taught them that our fight was for
Denmark, as w^ell as ourselves; that we had no ax to grind;
that we sought neither gain of land nor gold ; that we strove
to attain only world peace, universal justice, and the binder
of universal brotherhood the world over.

Americans must not forget the delicac}?" of Denmark's po-
sition and the geographical considerations that made her
absolutely helpless. When Denmark lost Schleswig and the
Kiel Canal was built, there disappeared the last hope of
successfully defending Copenhagen from an attack by the
Germans. The taking of Schleswig and the building of the
canal was really the first step for the big war. A fleet of
air ships sailing from Warnemunde, the German Baltic port,
could lay Copenhagen in ruins in five hours. German big
guns could easily bombard Copenhagen from the Baltic.
They could also sweep the peninsula of Jutland from one
side to the other. Therein was the secret of the Danish fear.

Allied press representatives were informed more than once,
before I came, that the papers could not afford to lean too
much to one side or the other in publishing propaganda.
Our task required delicate handling, and I was fortunate
in securing the services of Mr. Bente, a trained journalist,
who knew the likes and dislikes, the habits and the prefer-
ences of the Danish newspapers as very few know them.

From the very first we adopted the principle of laying all
our cards on the table. I was open in telling those whom I
wislied to have help me just what I had come to Denmark
for. I am convinced that had any other course been adopted
we would have failed.

EEPORT COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC INF0RMATI05T. 203

From a small begimiing in the Hotel Phoenix, where I
started with first tAvo and then three and four employees, the
Avork extended until I had seven persons on mj staff, three
translators, a stenographer, a man to read the newspapers
daily, my assistant director, and my bookkeeper and confi-
dential man. My translators were picked with the greatest
of care, and I eliminated those whom I found could not fill
the bill, until we had a staff who could translate perfectly
and, moreover, could write good journalistic Danish, a mat-
ter of the highest importance. So far as the publication of
material is concerned the following figures will show you
how our work grew :

In September we sent over 217 clippings of our own ma-
terial; in October the number of our clippings had increased
to 224 ; in November we sent over 591 ; in December, a month
with a, week of holidays and when in addition I had four
of my staff in bed wdth influenza, 420; in January no less
than 606.

One article in particular — President Wilson's statement
that justice would be done in the matter of Schleswig — was
published in more than 100 ncAvspapers, including 3 news-
papers in territory held by the Germans, such as the Flens-
borg Avis. So far as I know no other allied power had suc-
ceeded in getting propaganda material published in news-
papers in territory held by the Germans.

Furthermore, when I left we were beginning to get our
material into the newspapers of Germany. We had an article
on the German school system — a criticism of the German
school system — published in the Hamburger Ekko. We had
letters from German newspapers, such as the Hamburger
Fremdenblatt, asking us for material. The article published
in the Ekko Avas written by Dr. Maximilian Grossman, of
the committee, and v\^as attributed to us. Letters from Ger-
many appealing for our material Avere beginning to come in
just as I left.

W e did not feed the Danes cut-and-dried propaganda. We
carefully selected those articles which we knew the Danish
publications would be eager for. In this T had the invalu-
able aid of Mr. Herman Bente, my assistant director, who
knew the likes and dislikes of the Danish press all through

204 KEPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

f ile land. We did not put out our stuff as propaganda. We
iet the Danish editors know that we were running a straight
news bureau — that we had news of interest about America and
what was going on behind the scenes there. We did not urge
■t on them. They could take it or leave it, as they chose.
They took it and called for more. At first we went to them.
Then they came to us. W^e put the breath of life in dry
material. We put an American journalistic punch in it. We
aimed to tell the story of the pictures in short, crisp sentences
so tl) at they would hit the reader betAveen the eyes. If the
Danes were told, for example, that we were producing so
many thousands of tons of ammunition, they could net grasp
the picture. But if they were made to understand that this
ammunition, if piled, would make a mountain as high as one
of the highest buildings in the land, they got the picture.

When we were sending over 300,000 troops a month I
figured out how many men that would mean departing from
our shores every minute and wrote a short story stating that
every minute so many men were going out from the States
to serve under the flag. There was need of this. The Ger-
mans had said that we were not able to send an ariny. They
said that such troops as we had were ill-equipped. We were
able to convince the Danes to the contrary.

I wrote many articles. W^hen the great American offen-
sive at St. Mihiel began w^e received, just in time, a picture
of Pershing, but no written matter with it. The people of
Denmark were unable to visualize Pershing. W'^hat manner
of man was he ? What was his previous military experience ?
What had he done that he had earned the right to lead the
American Armies ? I had brought along with me some ma-
terial, and Twent out and scoured the entire city until I
found some more. Then I sat down and Avrote a column
story which appeared, along with the picture, on the first
page of the second largest newspaper in Denmark, Ber-
lingske Tidende, the time of the publication fitting in with
the beginning of the offensive.

When I found, on first coming, that nobody knew just
what was going on behind the scenes at home I sat down and
wrote an article telling what I had seen of the strength and
power of our war preparations, letting them know that we

BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIOIST. 205

did not want this war, but when we found that it had to be
fought we became one great workshop in which all the
people were working unitedly to end the war as quickly and
as effectively as possible. When I found that the Danes
had only an imperfect idea of President Wilson, how he
rose to fame, what he meant in the life of the people, how he
was trying to interpret tlie spirit of his countr}^ just what he
stood for and what he strove to attain, I wrote a three-col-
umn story, " Wilson, Hope of the World," in which I en-
deavored properly to interpret him and his principles.
Along with it I tried to mirror the spirit of my people. That
story was favorably commented on all over Denmark. It
was not only printed in one of the largest of the Copenhagen
newspapers, Beiiingske Tidende, but ran the rounds of the
provincial press. It was published in four provincial papers,
four of the leading papers, and among others in the leading
newspaper of Elbe, 3 miles from the German border. That
was just where I wanted to get it.

The Danes were interested in everything American." I
found that it was good propaganda work to write upon
American subjects not directly connected with the war. I
wrote an article about American journalism ; I wrote an ar-
ticle about Col. Eoosevelt and the manner of man he was,
after we had received news of his death; I wrote an article
about the development of our shipping under the guiding
genius of Charles M. Schwab, and that article was published
instead of a leader on the editorial page of another Copen-
hagen neAvspaper ; I likewise wrote a descriptive story telling
how the news of the signing of the armistice was received
in New York. These articles proved popular and the Copen-
hagen editors frequently asked me to write other articles.

I made several speeches in Copenhagen and in the Prov-
inces after they had asked me to do so. I delivered one at a
large concentration camp for soldiers at Sandholm. I was
asked to, and did, deliver one in the auditorium of the chief
Copenhagen newspaper, Politiken, just before I left.

I made myself a personal friend of the editors. I called
on some of them almost daily. I went to the Provinces and
to the editors there I explained what we were trying to do.
These calls were followed by an encouraging result in the
greater use of our material.

206 BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIOIST.

We kept careful track of what the newspapers were say-
ing, either to our detriment or to our credit. When they said
anj^tliing which was incorrect, and we l?:new it to be incor-
rect, we went after them. When one newspaper which had
been printing erroneous reports about us wrote vicious sub-
heads on a news article dealing with an address delivered
by the President and referred to him as the Trustland's
President," I called them to account, and the second editor
came to my office and a]3ologized. He did more. A two-
column article was written praising our work. The news-
paper swung over so that it took with eagerness articles sent
out by us, attributing them to our committee. This news-
paper published two columns of Justice Clark's important
decision on the eight-hour law and credited it to our com-
mittee. The story went the rounds of the Social Democratic
papers.

Every magazine of any prominence using pictures pub-
lished ours. We had more pictures in the magazines than
any of the other allied bureaus were able to show. Some-
times half a dozen such pictures would appear in an issue
of a single magazine having a circulation of 200,000. Many
hundreds of pictures were sent out hj us through the Pres-
sens Illustrations Bureau, which serves between 200 and 300
publications in Scandinavia, and this material, sent out in
Copenhagen, was published in Norway as well.

Copenhagen was filled with our pictures. They were
|>osted in places conveniently located. The Germans after-
wards followed us up and put up pictures where we did.
We put them up on side streets where pictures had not been
shown before and in outlying districts. We sent them to
provincial towns, such as Aarhus, Esbjerg, Ribe, Kallund-
borg, Roskilde, and other places. We grouped them so that
people could see the gradual development of small-arms
manufacture, of the progress of the Browniug machine
gun, of the flying machine, and we put red-lettered captions
and stories under them which conveyed a ready lesson to the
man in the street. These pictures were viewed daily by
thousands.

The same may be said of the cuts we received and of
the display posters.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 207

We gave pictures to the British Legation to be used in
their illustrated booklets and to lecturers. We even paid
for lantern slides for such men as Winding, one of the
prominent journalists of the staff of Politiken, who had
been a correspondent at the front and who afterw^ards de-
livered lectures telling what American troops were doing
in the war, what the}^ were like, and the spirit which actu-
ated them.

We furnished school teachers with printed material in
the shape of articles or pamphlets,^ likewise waiters. Wo
sent a volume of President Wilson's messages to a large pub-
lishing house which got them out in Danish.

We took up the Schleswig question at a time when scores
of persons came to see me to ask that the United States help
to adjust the Schlesvs ig problem on a basis of justice to the
Danes, and I sent home cables, articles, and pamphlets deal-
ing exhaustively with the entire Schleswig question. I
wrote home about it, and even sent a letter to the President,
pointing out that the people of the small neutral nation
which had suffered so grievousl}^^ looked to him in the wnst-
ful hope that he would right an ancient wrong and strike
off the shackles of the Danes in Schleswig who for 50 long
years had felt the tyranny and oppression of Prussian rule.
I talked among others to Mr. Hansen-Xorrem0lle, the Dan-
ish representative from that district in the German Eeich-
stag, who came to my office to see me, and I v/rote and cabkMl
home what he told me about the Schleswdg question.

I sent a daily cable informing the committee about con-
ditions in Germany, Russia, and Denmark, as they came to
my notice. T was able to cable home in early October that
the Germans had suffered a severe blow to their morale, and
sometime before the Kaiser's abdication I cabled that the
people in Berlin were talking of the possibility. I also
cabled hoAv the German Army had been shot with Bolshe-
vism by agents from Eussia.

When Mr. Edgar Sisson's Bolshevist disclosures first
reached Denmark by cable I got the complete text and, that
night, I called a meeting of my staff and instructed them to
go get out the entire text on our duplicating machine first
thing in the morning. I invited the chief censor to sit in on

208 REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORM ATIOlsT.

our talk. It was not necessary for us to get it out on the

duplicating machine, for the newspapers were impressed
with its extreme importance as news and the next day all the
Danish newspapers gave it all the space that was possible.
The Social-Demokraten, the strongest organ among the
Socialists of Denmark, alone published eight columns of the
revelations. The newspapers continued to publish the story
for three days. Later we got rid of between 10,000 and
15,000 copies of the disclosures printed in pamphlet form,
part in Danish and part in Eussian. The Eussians who were
combating Bolshevism .snapped them up eagerly.

We published three pamphlets in Denmark. One was by
Booth Tarkington, dealing Avith our awakening; another was
by Ernest Poole and described the spirit of the Army; a
third was an appeal to the reason of the German people writ-
ten b}^ a Ca|)t. Helwig, born in Germany, but an American
serving as a captain in our Army.

The last-named pamphlet was published in German. It
was distributed in the last months of the war. From one
place alone we received reports that it had been given into
the hands of about 300 Germans. Copies of that pamphlet
were left at all hotels and restaurants frequented by Ger-
mans. We sent man}^ into Germany.

The Germans had been unloading propaganda on Den-
mark for three years. The British and the French were on
the ground long before we were. The Germans had a
strong organization. It included a number of young authors
who had been unsuccessful in having their works published.
The Germans tempted them by telling them they would see
their names in print and offered to get out, free, the books
they wrote. In among these books they cleverly sandwiched
others dealing Avith German propaganda. These books were
issued from a large publishing house. Later the Germans
added another and suialler publishing firm. They had a
clientele of from 100,000 to 150,000, The Germans also
tempted newspapers which were known to be in financial
difficulties by offering them paying advertising contracts and
a supply of printing paper at considerably less cost than they
were able to get it from allied sources. This pajoer was
to be delivered free at the plant. They also offered ink and
printing machines.

REPORT COMMITTEE 01^ PUBLIC INFORMATION. 209

The leader of the German propaganda Avas Louis vom
Kohl, of an old Danish family and a clever author. He and
his associates bought up a chain of eight Danish magazines,
but none of the more influential ones fell into their clutches.
The last they got hold of was a magazine circulating among
seafaring men in which the propaganda was subtly con-
cealed.

Denmark was tired of propaganda when I came and if
we had attempted to put out material plainly tagged as such
it would have gone into the wastebasket. I adopted a new
line of endeavor. I went to the editors and told them
frankly what we were aiming at. I hid nothing. I said we
were conducting a news bureau. Before I did that I went
to the chief censor, Mr. Marinus Yde (one of the fairest,
ablest men I ever met) , and was perfectly frank with him.
I showed him our files and said he might come and look at
our office at any time. We strove to, and we did, convince
the people that we were there not so much to advertise our
wares as to bring about a better relationship, a mutual
understanding between our country and theirs as to the aims,
objects, and purposes of each. Frankness on our part begot
frankness on their part.

In pursuance of this I had a talk with the leading agri-
cultural experts and sent home a careful and accurate report
written by one of them detailing the exact situation in
Denmark and what she could do to help the hungry if she
obtained her requirements.

I suggested and helped to arrange the visit to our country
of the 12 Scandinavian journalists. That visit did much to
cement the friendly relations between ourselves, Norway,
Sweden, and Denmark. When they returned they wrote
many admirable articles showing a ready understanding of
our people and our spirit and correcting such impressions
as that we were a dollar-chasing land engrossed merely in
our own selfish considerations. Emil Marot, one of the
I )anes and a member of Parliament, gave, on his return, a
series of 25 lectures in which he explained us to his people.

T have seen a change of feeling come over people who had
r ol understood us before. I have seen a new imderstanding
of President Wilson come into the minds of the Danes so

121033—20 14

210 EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEOEMATION.

that the}' placed him on a plane beside their greatest na-
tional heroes. I have known them to cut out the photo-
graphs of him sent out by us, which appeared in Danish
papers, and place them in a sort of family shrine. Yes, I
have known the rough farmers to do that on the lonely heath,
lands. I know that the people of the small neutral nations
of Europe, soulsick with war, yearning for an enduring
peace, have looked to him in the hour of trial as the great
deliverer, the Moses in a wilderness of trouble. They looked
to him to lead them to the light, to lasting peace, to bind the
nations in the great brotherhood of which so many mil-
lions dream. They believed in him and in us when I left.

Edward V. Riis,
G ommissioneT for Denmarh.

SUMMABIES OF TYPICAL INTEKVIEWS GIVEN BY MR. RIIS.

Hoveclstaden, August 18 ; headUne, Denmark and America " :
The name of Jacob liiis is very popular in Denmark. Who has not-
enjoyed reading the story of the boy from Ilibe, who lived to be called
New York's most useful citizen by an American President? The son^
of this man is sure to bo welcome in Denmark.

In interview lliis says that it is wrong that the United States
should not have tlie friendliest feelings for Denmark. On the con-
trary, America wishes to strengthen the tie of friendship and con-
siders it important that Danes should understand why America went
to war. The United States not in war to crush German nation, but
German militarism, so the world will be more lit for our children to
live in. America thanks Denmark and Scandinavia for what their sons
have done in the war. Two hundred thousand are in the Army and
Navy and the Scandinavians have contributed liberally to war loans,
the Red Gross, etc. Proud that two Scandinavians are among the 22
first Amei^can soldiers to receive the highest military American war
decoration. Danish league formed in the United States to promote
better understanding of war. Asked if Roosevelt is his friend, like
he was his father's friend, Riis answers yes and tells of the ex-
T.*resident's sons in war. Says the United States now has one and
quarter million soldiers in France and next summer will have four
million men over there, and Gen. March promises that with these
troops he will be able to go through the German lines at any time.
We don't believe, we knoio that we shall win. The will to victory is
strong and still growing in America. We feel this is the most un-
selfish war the United States ever participated in ; more unselfish
even than the war of 1776, but we are fighting for the same prin-
ciples — life, happiness, and liberty, and for justice and humanity.
We do not need to hide our purposes. There is nothing to hide. Presi-

BBPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATION. 211

(lent Wilson is to-day placed alongside of Washington and Lincoln
by the American people, who have confidence in his leadership and
will follow him everywhere, because his diplomatic wisdom shows he

is the greatest man of his time.

Questioned if America not satisfied with Denmark's neutral atti-
tude, Riis says nobody wishes to drag Denmark into the v\^ar, but
wants it to be neutral. He concludes with words of appreciation
because his father's name is honored in Denmark and thanks for the
welcome lie himself has received.

Dagens Nyheder, August 16; headline, "America and the World
War — United States and Denmark — Jacob A. Riis's Son Tells Dagens
KyliecU^r About Holy War " :

After introductory remarks >about Jacob A. Itiit^, Edward lliis says
in interview it was impression in the United States that you in Den-
mark needed better information from America and about the Ameri-
cans in war. To this end I have l)een sent liere by the Conuuittee on
I*ublic Information. There is nothing secret or underhanded in my
mission. You can read my instructions here. I am no spy, but a
man whose purjiose is to get Danes and Americans to understand
each other better. There is nothing but friendly feelings for Den-
mark in America, and there has been no change in this during tlie
war. They think here tbat v\'e have been unduly strict in our em])argo
policy, but you nuist understand that we are in a struggle wliicli for
us means all and it can not be helped that also the small nations feel
that. AYe did not go to war because we wanted war. When Presi-
dent Vv'iison was reelv'Cted the Nation was not for war, but the feeling
changed because of Germany's aggressive roxthods on the high seas
and in regard to our munition plants and factories in the United
States. We saw that we could not keep our self-respect and our
liberty, and not tlie world's respect either, if we did not go to war ;
not to crush Germany or to obtain material advantages, but to secure
for the world's peor)les liberty and peace for the future. It is Ger-
man autocracy, not the Gernuui people, we are lighting, and we will
not stop until the war is won. There are now a million and a half
American soldiers in France. Next Christmas there vrill be two
niillions. In a year, four or five millions and, if necessary, we will
send ten or fifteen millions over there. Strangers think it remarkable
that w e, of our people, composed or so many elements, have been able
to create such a unity. It surprised even ourselves. It was a miracle.
I liave seen regiments after regiments of men of difterent nationalities,
all united in one and the same will, all inspired by tlie same idea,
the fight for freedom, for the people's liberty, for democracy. It has
become a religion for Americans. The war is for them a holy war.
The struggle is between the old feudalism, autocratic rule, and the
people's right to self-determination. All American i)repa rations are
for five years' war, but I believe the war will be over long before that.

212 REPORT COMMITTEE 0"N- PUBLIC USTEORMATION.

WoKK IN Russia — General Introduction,

[By Edgar Si«son^ General Director of Foreign Section, Committee on Public

Information.]

The work of the Committee on Public Information in
Russia and Siberia vv^as the most arduous of the accomplish-
ments of the organization, owing to the difficulties of Russia's
immense area, as well as those of revolution.

Time will continue to show the importance of the whole
achievement.

The chief credit goes to Arthur Bullard, who gave more
than a year and a half of his time to the directorship of the
cornmittee's Russian enterprise, making sacrifices of every
kind, including health.

The report that follows is set forth in sections, beginning
with the account of installation, and continuing with the
record of the succeeding work in Russia proper, and of the
building up of the great plant in Siberia.

A few Aveeks after my own. departure from Russia in the
spring of 1918, it became definitely clear to me that the pur-
pose of the Germans and of the Russian Bolsheviks was to
bring about an untenable situation in Russia for all officials
and citizens of Entente coimtries. The purpose was to limit
their freedom and their activities more and more, and finally
to expel them. It was my hope that all countries would see
this and get their nationals out of Russia before they should
be thrown out humiliatingly. But at that time the interna-
tional political world could not believe that this outcome was
inevitable.

I was sure, however, that within a few weeks it would
be impossible to get material into European Russia. Ac-
cordingly, I took the responsibility of ordering Mr. Bullard
and his American group, save one man, to remove themselves
from the Bolshevik area of Russia.

Our chief office at Moscow, and even the office at Petrograd,
remained open, the former in charge of Read Lewis, whose
report is included, and the latter in charge of a Russian
assistant. The Moscow office was finally raided and closed
by the Bolsheviks the first week in September, 1918.

It was necessary to shift the organization as a whole to a
place where it could have a dependable base of supplies.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC UsTEOliMATlON, 213

Obviously, this place Avas Siberia, affordino- the opportunity
for a sound and stead}' penetration along tlie line of the
Siberian railroad as fast as order was restored along this
railroad line. The eventual goal would be Moscow.

This whole project of transfer was successfully carried
out. Two men, Malcolm Davis and William Adams Brown,
worked their way out through Siberia, and in the early
summer had opened new offices at Harbin and Vladivostok.

Meantime, Mr. Bullard, accompanied by Messrs. Bake-
man, Glaman, and Taylor, secured passage from Archangel
to Halifax and about July 1 reached the United States.
This nucleus was at once equipped for the remainder of the
journey around the world. The additional staff included
translators, teachers, moving-picture experts, and office help-
ers. Seven hundred and fifty thousand feet of the best
moving-picture film was sent, together with powered pro-
jecting machines. Four weeks after he set foot on American
soil, Mr. Bullard w^as sailing with the first contingent from
a Pacific port.

Mr. Malcolm Davis' report (included) tells the story of
the Siberian expedition.

When my forecast of the spring was proved by the forced
flight of all allied nationalities from European Russia in
the late summer. Read LcAvis, of the Moscow office, on reach-
ing safety in Sweden was at once ordered to go to Arch-
angel and open an office there.

Mr. Harry Inman was also sent direct from New York to
Archangel with moving- picture film.

Both Read Lewis and Harry Inman did notable service
there throughout the winter of 1918 and 1919.

From Paris the first Sunday in February, 1919, I cabled
around the world demobilization orders for all offices of the
committee, except those of New York, London, and Paris.
The offices demobilized by that order were Coj)enhagen,
Stockholm, The Hague, Berne, Prague, Rome, Madrid,
Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima, Colon, Mexico City, Peking,
Vladivostok, Harbin, Irkutsk, Omsk, and Archangel.

To the Siberian and Russian offices the chief leeway in
time was granted, but it was impossible to allow them to
operate beyond March 15. The last members of the group
did not reach the United States until late in June, 1919.

214 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMATIOK,

Here is the roster of the Eussian-Siberian organization:
Arthur Billiard, Guy Croswell Smith, Malcohn Davis, Read
Lewis, George Bakeman, Otto Glaman, Graham Taylor, jr.,
Ilarr}^ Inman, Boris Lebedeff, Dr. Joshua Eosett^ Franklin
Clarkin, Edwin Schoonmaker, Eobert Winters, George
Bothwell, Sid Evans, Prof. William Russell, William
Adams Brown, jr., William Carnes, Lem A. Dever, Phil
Norton, Dennis J. Haggerty, H. Y. Barnes, Edgar Sisson.

Edgar Sisson,

Work in Russia — The Installatiox.

(Witli instructions to install the Committee on Public
Information's service in Eussia, Mr. Edgar G. Sisson left
the United States on October 27, 1917, and arrived in Petro-
grad November 25; His report follows:)

The Bolshe^vik-Prok^tarian revolution had begun Xovem-
ber 7, and the city was still under the closest Red Guard
military control. I was told by the Americans on the
scene that there was no possibility of any open govern-
mental activity. This did not seem logical to me, but it
necessitated a careful preliminary survey.

In a week's time I had convinced myself not onh?^ that
it was possible to go ahead, but that the best w^ay was to go
ahead openly. This plan, however, required the use of the
meclianical facilities wholly in the control of the Bolshevik
Government — telegraph agencies, printing shops, and, to
a lesser. degree, distributing agencies.

As an example of the chaotic condition of affairs, the
Bolshe^/iki had suppressed all the existing and opposing
Bourgeois newspapers, leaving for the chief publications
in Petrograd their official newspapers, the Isvestia and the
Pravcla. Such otlier newspapers as appeared were being
obliged to change their names almost with each issue, so
fast did the suppressions come.

Y/hen I left the United States our cable service was sup-
posed to be ready to begin to feed into the Eusian govern-
mental distributing organization, the Petrograd Telegraph
Agency, which in Eussia corresponds to the Associated
Press in the United States. The revolution, however, had
broken the service. Efforts to replace it had been made by

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC UsTEORMATIOK. 215

the use of the wireless station at Lyon, France, the receiving-
station being at Moscow. The project failed because the
Moscow station itself was almost immediately put out of
commission. In Russia we would not have known of the
effort had not a few sentences of one garbled message been
picked up a few days before inefficient operators (or in-
tent) finally wrecked the instruments at the station.

The first job, therefore, was to restore the cable service.
This was done after an interchange of cables with Wash-
ington, and after finding that the Petrograd Telegraph
Agency desired to have and would use the cables.

I called Arthur Bullard up from Moscow, where of his
own initiative he had been acting as a volunteer in the
consul's office in preparing a mail service for provincial
papers, and made him the Director of the Russian News
Division of the committee. I also commandeered Graham
Taylor, jr., who had been engaged on work in the German
prison camps in Russia until we^ went to war, and put him
in charge of the Petrograd office. This was done in order
to enable Mr. Bullard to return to Moscow and organize an
office there.

We opened an office at 4 Gorokovaya for the receipt of
cable messages, and put in a translating force. The mes-
sages, as soon as translated, were fed into Petrograd Tele-
graph Agency in Petrograd and theoretically were tele-
graphed all over Russia, as well as released to the Petrogf ad
newspapers. Such was the disorganization of the telegraph
lines, however, that in practice we found it at once neces-
sary to install a courier service to Moscow, and to make the
larger part of the national distribution from there. In both
phices we also released direct as exigencies required.

In Moscow each week we assembled the cable material in
pamphlet form, added to it educational mail and article
material and distributed the pamphlets to the provincial
press, and to organizations where we deemed it useful.

We adopted for ourselves the Russian name, Amerikansky
Bureau Pachata (the American Press Bureau), and at-
<}iched a governmental symbol to indicate its official nature,

P)oth the British and the French did their publicity work
->.s private organizations, and it was a matter of interest to

216 REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC OTPORMATIOK.

me that the head of the French department came to me be-
fore I left Petrograd and said that ours was the right way.
The British organization, Cosmos, was raided and closed by
the Bolsheviki the last week in December. The French
never put out anything openly. We were not seriously inter-
fered with throughout the winter.

The middle of December found our news organization
in operation. One of the first impressions I had got of
Petrograd was of its billboard possibilities. Every street,
including the Nevsky, was papered up and down with plac-
ards and proclamations, mostly emanating from the Soviet.
The first of President Wilson's Russian messages came in
early December. As I feared, after reading it, the official
newspapers refused to print it in full, and misused and mis-
interpreted such parts as they did print. Other papers also
used it insufficiently, so I made up my mind to put it on the
billboard. I was advised this would be regarded as a chal-
lenge by the Bolshevik Government, but this view did not
appear reasonable to me. I went about the matter openly,
gave the job of printing to the biggest Government printing
establishment in Petrograd, a plant that would compare fa-
vorably with all but a very few in the United States, and
negotiated with a billposter agency to put up the message.
The bill-posting man was the only person to show any fear
of the outcome, but he needed the business and decided to
take a chance. He played " safety first," and hired soldiers
to do the posting. The result was that 50,000 copies of the
President's message were posted one morning throughout
Petrograd without any hindrance whatever. This posting
was followed by a street hand distribution of 300,000 copies —
in the street cars, in the theaters, hotels, stores, and to the
street crowds.

Similar plans were started in Moscow, but rioting broke
out and prevented success. The third process of printing,
the turning of the speech to pamphlet use, was done at
Moscow.

The experience on this message enabled us to do the big
job on the President's message of January 8 with its state-
ment of terms of any possible peace. We had learned the
machinery. The January 8 speech began to reach us J anuary

REPORT COMMITTEE OH PUBLIC INFORMATION, 217

10, but did not come complete until January 11. It was used
in full in the Isvestia, the direct organ of the Soviets. This
in itself gave a complete all-Russia circulation among the
Soviets. There was liberal use of the message in nearly all
of the newspapers.

The Petrograd posters were up January 13. The street
distribution, again of 300,000, followed a few days later.
The Moscow distribution was done almost simultaneously.

On this message German distribution was essential. One
million copies were printed in German. Of this quantity
300.000 were put across the northern line into the German
line, and 200,000 similarly at the central and the southern
front. A half million went to German prison camps in
Russia, for the reason that these prisoners were expected
soon to return to Germany.

The German distribution was done by an organization of
soldiers through the help of Jerome Davis, of the Young
Men's Christian Association, who had used them for package
distribution. The Young Men's Christian Association as a
body had nothing to do with the work. This soldiers' or-
ganization was later made a part of our own machinery, and
was used with high effectiveness in the distribution of Ger-
man and Hungarian versions of President Wilson's speech
of February 11. It worked along the line of the German
advance into Russia, and fulfilled its instructions to scatter
the messages in territory about to be occupied by the Ger-
man Army. The head of this organization was B. Morgen-
stern.

The details of the distribution of the message of January
8 will show the general method :

President Wilson's Message of January 8, 1918.

Petrograd :

Russian posters printed, posted up along streets

Russian handbiUs printed —

Distributed to theaters, etc

To Davis-Morgenstern for Russian soldier line

German handbills printed

2, 000, 000

100, 000

300, 000

600, 000

1,000:000

218 EEPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC mrORMATIOlir.

F.iom Petrograd :

Text telegraphed to —

Chita: Representative of International Harvester
Co., from whom no word has come.

Omsk: Gray, of International Harvester Co., who
reported that he was pushing distribution.

Ekaterinburg: Palmer, of International Harvester
Co., who reported that local situation prevented
an innnediate start, but that now the work was
progressing well to distribute 10,000 posters and
150,000 handbills 160, 000

Kiev: To Jenkins, American consul; text in Uk-
ranian; letter from Jenkins said he planned to
distribute 50,000.

American consul at Vladivostok reported that he received uK^ssjige

by direct cable from Pfnited States.
Moscow :

Posters printed—

Pasted up along streets 45, 000

Pasted up in rooms of house committees 20, 000

Sent to Voronesch 1, 000

X Handbills printed — ■

Gonetz to theaters, etc . 235, 000

Young Men's Christian Association 286, 000

To Voronesch 10,000

To Lubertzi (International Harvester) 2,000

To town in Tamboft! 1,000

Factories vvithin 150 versts „_. 300, 000

Manufacturers' Association for its 30 branches in

Russia 18,000

All-Russian Trade and Industry Association for

its 450 branches in Russia 45, 000

To 700 cooperatives in Russia 150,000

To 2 individual soldiers who wanted them for

their regiments 2, 000

Muir and Mirriles 1,000

Connnittee of escaped prisoners

To Kharkolf 50,000

To houses throughout Moscow, distributed by the

Society of Municipal Employees 125, 000

I»amphlets printed, in bulletin No. 3 12,000

Total 3, 403, 000

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC mPORMATION. 219

Prom Moscow :

Text sent with order to print and distribute to —
American consul at Odessa.
American consul at Tiflis.
American consul at Kiev.
American consul at Rostov for —
Rostov.
Taganrog.

Novocherkassk, and district north of the Caucasus.

Had the Germans entered Petrograd in late February they
would have been greeted by posters in German, both of the
President's messages of January 8 and February 11. One
hundred thousand copies of the former were run the middle

of FebruarjT^ to provide for this contingency.

In the last week in February we encountered our first
definite Bolshevik stoppage. The colored cartoon poster,
showing the arm of German force stabbing the people's
hand, and tramping upon the people's banner of liberty,
w^as confiscated on the press by order of the Bolshevik Gov-
ernment.

Why?

Smolny laughed at us when we asked it.

We asked in order to see whether Smolny would laugh.

The News Division moved into larger quarters on the
Nevsky the last week in February, the week that saw the
exit from Petrograd of the embassies, consulates, and the
missions, including the American Embassy, the American
consul, the American Military Mission, and the American
Red Cross. The change had been planned for weeks earlier.
We concluded to be found going ahead until Ave could go no
farther. So large American flags were draped across the
windows, and the division moved in.

The Film Division headquarters were on the Kazansky,
half a block from the Nevsky, facing the cathedral. It was
in charge of Guy Croswell Smith as director. The machine
stood ready to receive new films by January 1. The failure
of Hart, of the Young Men's Christian Association, to bring
through a quarter of million feet of film intended for us
kept us from saturating Russia with American films in the
early winter. Tlie second allotment of films given into the
custody of Bernstein had reached Stockholm when the Fin-

220 EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INI^ORMATION.

iiisli Ee volution of the last days of January closed the gates
into Eussia, No couriers came into Petrograd after Feb-
ruar}^ 1.

Smitli and I found both the Hart and the Bernstein films
still in Scandinavia in April,

With such films as he had — the Uncle Sam Immigrant
film and the Presidential Procession in Washington — Smith
did fine work. The Uncle Sam Immigrant film was put out
with a camouflage title "All for Peace." The finished title
vvould have read "All for Peace Through War," but we left
it to the audiences to find that out for themselves. The big-
gest moving-picture theater in Petrograd ran both films, and
they fed rapidly throughout the whole of Eussia. We traced
them from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea and far into
Siberia.

I arranged for an option on a Petrograd theater, and the
purpose was to lease similarly in Moscow^ and after a run
for advertising purposes, to turn the films into trade chan-
nels, to add incentive to circulation. It is the method to use
in Eussia and, in general, nearly everywhere.

In my opinion, the best individual vv^ork done in Eussia
for the United States was that of Arthur Bullard in writing
the pamphlet Letters to a Eussian Friend," an interpreta-
tion of the highest order of America. We published it in
Eussian as a Eed, White, and Blue book. Three hundred
thousand copies were distributed.

The Moscow office continued the distribution of the Jan-
uary and February messages in the remote sections ,of Eussia
after March 1. The total distribution, including the Hun-
garian and German text, was more than four million. Three
hundred thousand handbills containing both messages were
distributed ahead of the German advance in Ukraine. The
President's Baltimore speech was printed in Irkutsk, Omsk,
Samara, Petrograd, Moscow, and Ekaterinburg.

An American Bulletin was issued weekly. By issue No. 6,
the Bulletin had reached a circulation of 40,000 in all parts
of Eussia. It went to all newspapers, zemstvos, schools,
Soviets, commercial and manufacturing associations, and
universities. It was also sent to 10,000 cooperative societies
which form the backbone of the practical liberal element.

Edgar Sisson.

REPORT COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC INEORMATIOl^r. 221

Work in Eussia — Summer of 1918.

[Report of Read Lewis.]

Stockholm, Seftemher 1918,

Mr. Edgar G. Sisson,

Director Division of Foreign Work^

Committee on Public Information^ 'W ashing ton ^ Z>. G,
In accordance with your instructions, I returned from
Archangel to Moscow June 30. From then until August 26,
when I started for Stockholm, I had charge of the Compub
work centering in Moscow and Petrograd. During these
two months I was busy in building up and revitalizing the
organization which we had left on May 4 and in extending
the work. Despite the absence of American associates, our
inability to communicate with the outside world, and the
entire failure of news cables and publicity material to reach
us, well as the handicap of an acute political crisis
threatening daily the future of the work, we were able to
reach a steadily increasing public. After the consulate gen-
eral on August 5 placed American interests under the pro-
tection of the Swedes, it seemed more than ever important
to continue Compub as the only agency which remained to
express President Wilson's affirmed policy of friendship and
helpful cooperation with the Russian people. There was
need for even more vigorous effort by us to offset the
assiduous anti- American German propaganda, and to inter-
pret in democratic fashion the Entente policy at Archangel
and in Siberia. As long as the work was permitted by the
Soviet Government, I believed it should be carried on. The
possibility that Americans might be held as hostages seemed
to me no reason for withdrawal. On the western front the
chance that a soldier may be taken prisoner has never been a
reason for keeping him from the fight. It was accordingly
under protest that I left Moscow with the consulate staff.
I left Moscow reluctantly, but with the hope that if the
worl^ could be continued I should receive authority to return.
Following my arrival in Stockholm, however, I learned by
cable through the Swedish consulate general at Moscow, as
I have already cabled you, that on September 2, a week fol-
lowing my departure, the Soviet had closed our offices and
that the work was being liquidated.

222 REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION.

During Jul}^ and August the principal work of the Russian
Press Division was the publication and distribution of the
American Bulletin. This 16~page pamphlet, designed for
the general reading public, was issued weekly and distributed
free of charge to a mailing list of 40,000 names. Its cost, in-
cluding printing and paper, was 10 kopecks, or 1 cent, at a
cost (according to the second-class mailing rates first ob-
tained in August) of only 7 kopecks per month for eacli sub-
scriber. The Bulletin contained the cable news dispatches,
so long as they were received, and articles and paragraphs
descriptive of the different phases of American life. The
Bulletin mailing list included all newspapers and publica-
tions, 800 cooperative unions and their more than 10,000 con-
stituent societies, thousands of schools and libraries, all the
Soviet and Government institutions of the country, trade-
unions, teachers' associations, the old zemstvos, commercial
and manufacturing associations, many business houses and
individuals. The building up of this mailing list was a
matter of continuous and careful work. Our attempt was to
reach not only the sources of public opinion but at least some
part of the people themselves. Lists of tlieir cooperative
societies, representing in their membership the great substan-
tial and forward-looking masses of the Russian peo]3le, had
in response to our letters been sent us by the cooperative
unions. In response to letters to the educational divisions of
provincial and district governments we had secuied lists of
local schools, people's houses, libraries, etc. Every mail
brought many letters from persons and organizations who
had seen the Bulletin and asked to be placed on our mailing
list. Not a day went by without at least one letter from a
provincial Soviet, or one of its departments, expressing in-
terest in our w^ork, forwarding names of local organizations,
and requesting sometimes as many as 50 copies of each issue
for its use. Thus despite the territory impossible to reach on
account of civil war, we were distributing 50,000 copies of
each issue of the Bulletin.

In addition to the American Bulletin the bureau also issued
during the summer a translation of " How the War Came to
America," and a pamphlet collecting several of the speeches
of President Wilson, principally those of J anuary 8 on terms

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 223

of general peace, of February 11 replying to the Central
Powers, and of April 7 at Baltimore. Of each of these two
pamphlets 100,000 copies had been printed and were being
distributed. We continued to print and distribute the very
successful " Letters of an American Friend." Of this 400,000
copies had been printed and distributed and a new order was
on the press. It is interesting to note that these letters were
reprinted in full by one of the Astrakhan newspapers, and
the inability to report similar instances may be due to the
very few provincial papers it was possible to obtain. In the
form of leaflets we issued and distributed 100,000 copies of
both the President's Eed Cross speech of May 18 in New
York, and his speech of June 11 to the Mexican editors. To
the earlier speeches more general distribution had already
been given. Four million copies, indeed, of the speech of
January 8 were distributed throughout the country and at
the front. Copies of it for posting had been sent to all rail-
road stations in Russia. In default of a greater variety of
literature for general distribution we printed of the last sev-
eral issues of the Bulletin a second 50,000 for distribution
outside of its regular mailing list. To pamphlets like Let-
ters of an American Friend " and the speeches of President
Wilson, the bureau aimed to give a far more general dis-
tribution than to the weekly bulletin. Copies of such
pamphlets were of course sent to the Bulletin mailing list.
In addition the bureau maintained a staff of 11 couriers and
messengers for the work of distribution. Two, for example,
devoted their entire time to dail}^ distribution at the railroad
stations in Moscoav ; two more to distribution at the factories
and cooperative societies in the Moscow district. A special
effort was made to reach personally with our literature each
of the many congresses and conferences held in Moscow (and
even in some of the provincial cities) with their delegates
from different parts of the country. To these meetings and
conventions our messengers carried subscription lists and in
this way were able to add to the Bulletin mailing list. The
rest of our courier staff were emplo3^ed in making regular
trips to the Provinces. The complete breakdown of the
transportation system in Russia made it essential, if we were
consistently to reach the provincial cities and districts with
our literature, that we should have our own system of dis-

224 KEPOKT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFOKMATIOH.

tribution. The trips for our provincial messengers were
carefully planned, each man being given a list of the organi-
zations, factories, persons, etc., to which he was to distribute
literature in the several cities which he was to visit. ISTearly
all men engaged in this department of our work were mem-
bers of the Society of Escaped Prisoners; that is, they had
been common soldiers in the Eussian Army and subsequently
prisoners in Germany, from which they had escaped. No
little part of the success of the distribution work was due
to their loyal interest in it and their ingenuity in dealing
with the difficulties of transportation and the obstacles in the
way of opposition from some local authority with which they
had frequently to contend. The bureau was also arranging
at important points on the Volga like Mzhnij-Kovgerod and
Saratov to have a regular employee who would distribute bits
of literature on all boats stopping at the port.

Through its department of distribution the bureau had
thus distributed, during the month from July 15 to August
15, 10,112 pieces of literature at congresses and conventions ;
51,600 at railroad stations in Moscow; 55,951 at factories, to
works' committees and trade-unions; 38,007 to cooperative
societies and shops in Moscow and vicinity ; and 167,950 in
the Provinces by the bureau's couriers. This, in addition to
a small miscellaneous distribution at the offices of the com-
mittee in Petrograd and Moscow and in addition to the dis-
tribution of the Bulletin by post, made the total distribution
for the month 479,333.

It is obvious, of course, that if we could have supplied to
and had published by the Russian newspapers the same or
material equivalent to that which we ourselves printed and
distributed, we should have employed a far more economical
and extensive method of publication and distribution. The
publication of our own pamphlets, and especially of our
weekly paper, however, seemed essential, not only because
of the utter demoralization of the Russian press, but as a
concrete evidence and expression of America's policy of
friendship and helpful cooperation with the Russian people.
Following the assassination of Ambassador Mirbach early
in July all of the bourgeois press were permanently closed,
and until I left Moscow none but a few Bolshevik newspapers
appeared. The same condition was true in the provincial

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INPORMATION.

225

cities except for a few left S. E>. papers. The editorial of-
fices of these papers, particularly in Moscow and Petrograd,
were definitely unfriendly to America.

The bureau, on the other hand, not only was without the
American staff but entirely lacked the material which would
have enabled it to furnish these Bolshevik papers with news
and a special press service w^hich, I am convinced, w^ould in
large part have overcome their hostility and intolerance. On
the contrary we were cut off from communication and most
of the material needful to counteract the anti-American Ger-
man propaganda in the Russian press. Following the non-
receipt of our own cable dispatches, much of the American
news in the press showed unmistakable evidence of having
been made in Germany. Most of it was cleverly selected in
order at the same time to appeal to the particular sympathies
and prejudices of the Bolsheviks and to discredit America.
As an example of the chief American news items published
widely throughout the countrj^^ I may cite stories of Negroes
hung in Iowa, a cage for cowards in Alabama, the sentence
of Lochner, a reported scandal in the Quartermaster's De-
partment of the Army over supplies and contracts, ammuni-
tion explosions in Syracuse, the persecution and judicial bru-
tality exhibited toward Socialists and pacifists, the occupa-
tion of two towns in Panama by American troops, the story
that the French were dissatisfied because one-half of the
American troops in France were Negroes, a Socialist in
Washington sentenced to 10 years because he had in his room
a placard " Don't he a soldier, be a man," etc.

This shows the supreme importance of the communication
to Eussia by us of American news. But from early in July
we were cut off from all cable and telegraphic communica-
tion with the outside world. The last Compub cable received
was No. 10144, of July 2, describing the preparations for
Independence Day. Subsequent Compub cables up to 10183
were dispatched but none of them except for 10155 were eA^er
received. Although I tried to send you word of our situa-
tion, first through Archangel and later via Petrograd and
Stockholm, I presume my cables never reached you. One
indeed sent by neutral courier early in August has overtaken
me in Stockholm. While we were thus without cable news,

121033—20 15

226 REPORT COMMITTEE 0]Sr PUBLIC mFORMATIOK.

we also lacked the necessary general material. Our latest

American newspapers dated from December and January.
Since the first 400 numbers of the Foreign Press Bureau's
service we had received none of its material except for two
installments early in July, one dating from December and
the other the first week of April. These proved of great
assistance but were speedily exhausted. After the Compub
cables stopped the contents of the Bulletin was limited to
general informative articles about America, its life and war
activities, and to such news notes as I could get from the
few English and French papers at hand, ISTearly all of this
material had to be personally prepared by me.

While our work with the newspapers was thus actually so
limited, I was convinced of the supreme importance of estab-
lishing a special and exclusive service for the newspapers
quite apart from the Bulletin, and to this end preparatory
work, was carried on. We had thus in practically all the
20-odd Governments with which it was possible to commu-
nicate secured a local correspondent. This was some person
w^ho was known to us or who had expressed his wish to help
in the work and who as a result of correspondence seemed
suitable. These agents were employed at nominal salaries.
It was their duty to send us the names and addresses of all
newspapers in their Government or district, to keep us in-
formed of the local newspaper situation, to supply us with
clippings showing the attitude of these papers toward
Ameiica and their use of our material, and to send us names
of local persons and institutions for the Bulletin mailing
list. We thus tried to keep on hand ready for use an up-to-
date list of Eussian newspapers. If the cables had started to
come through again it had been my intention to send them
eitlier by post or artel to each of these newspapers, forward-
ing them sufficiently in advance of their release in Moscow
so that they would reach the provincial cities ahead of the
Moscow papers publishing them. I planned also to send out
semivv^eekly as soon as the necessary material could be accu-
mulated to start the service, two or three galley sheets con-
taining notes, articles and paragraphs and fillers suitable for
rei^rinting by the newspapers.

Concerning the A, B, C book, the primaj y book which the
committee had planned to issue and distribute as a gift from

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 227

American to Russian school children, 3,000 advance copies
were printed. A meeting of educational experts representing
the leading teachers and educational organizations was held
under the bureau's auspices and a plan worked out for the
most effective method of distribution. These advance copies
were never sent out for two reasons. First, there was delay
due to the necessity of obtaining the consent of the authors
to the substitution of the old by the new spelling in the final
edition, a change which was judged expedient in view of the
attitude of the Government. In the second place as the cost
of the A, B, C book Avould have been 120,000 rubles per-
100,000 copies, I hesitated with limited funds at hand and the
difficulties of communication and obtaining more funds, to
use the money which might be needed for more general
propaganda.

Up to the time of my departure from Moscow August 28y
there had been no interference b}^ the Soviet authorities with
our work.^ All publications had to be licensed by the com-
missar of the press, but all permissions for printing and dis-
tribution which we asked for, had been granted.

There was, however, in the face of the threatening atti-
tude of the Entente in Siberia and Archangel toward the
Soviet Government, indications that our work might be re-
garded as hostile propaganda. In the latter part of August
various articles appeared in the Moscow press calling atten-
tion to the propaganda character of our work. There were
also one or tw^o fantastic tales published ia a paper unmis-
takably German in its ownership suggesting that our em-
ployees Avere engaged in our offices in making bombs and
explosives. The commissar of education had before m}^ de-
parture communicated with the university where we had our
offices since April on the question of our removal and we had
been trying to find and move to new quarters. The com-
missar's position that as the university v/as supported by
Government funds the presence of the press bureau of a
foreign Government was improper, although we had been
invited by the university management, seemed an entirely
correct one, and did not in itself, I believe, indicate any
animus against us. In regard to the events immediately lead-

1 The o/Bce was raided and closed by the Bolsheviks Sept. 6.

228 REPORT COMMITTEE OlsT PUBLIC mEORMATlON.

mg up to the closing of our work by the Soviet and that
event itself, I have received no information except that the
work of liquidation luis been moved from the universit}^ to
our original offices opposite the consulate general.

When I left Moscow I placed Mr. Lebedev in charge of
the work under instructions to continue it. In the event
that the work should be stopped Mr. Lebedev was under
instruction to retain such help as he required to complete
and place our accounts in iDroper shape, to put our files in
order, and to have our mailing list ready for future use, but
to pay off all our other employees with two months' salary
in advance in accordance with the Russian custom. I have
since sent word to Mr. Lebedev that if possible he and two
other of our Russian staff in Moscow should, if they could
secure the necessary passports, proceed to Stockholm in order
that they might join me in Archangel. It seemed likely
that under present conditions I would otherwise be u^nable
to obtain the experienced and competent Eu.ssian help in
Archangel so essential to the success of our work. In regard
to the Petrograd office I have sent instructions that it should
be given up and our property stored in the embassy. During
the summer tlie Petrograd office served only as a distributing
point, with a staff limited to Mr. Younger and a couple of
messengers. It was mj wish to organize there a local dis-
tribution service similar to that which we had in Moscow,
but the urgency of the political situation was such as to
prevent me from going to Petrograd to accomplish it.

All through July and part of August while the Russian
press was fuming at Anglo-French imperialists, never a
Avord was said about America, although it was well known
that we were also parties with England and France to the
treaty with the Murmansk Soviet. The different attitude
which the Russian newspapers and Government have taken
toward America, as distinguished from the other Allies, has
been due not only to what America is, but also, I believe, to
our propaganda, and the efforts we have made to make
America understood. It has been due to the fact that our
propaganda was distinguished from that of the English and
French, has aimed at reaching the broad masses of the Rus-
sian people. We have tried to make friends with the people

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INEORMIATION. 229

themselves. That we have at least in a small measure suc-
ceeded is attested by many letters of appreciation received
from simple people, often from scarcely literate peasants
and workingmen. I quote the following foreword to several
pamphlets we were preparing to issue when I left Moscow,
as showing the spirit not only in which I tried to carry on
the vrork, but also in which I believe it must be carried on to
be permanently successful.

This little pamphlet is printed and given to you by the Government
of the United States of America. You may well ask why it should take
the trouble to go halfway around the world to give it to you, a citizen
of the new Russia.

The Government of the United States of America, which is only
another word for the people of America, believe in democracy, in gov-
ernment by and for the great masses of the people. It believes that
only when such government exists everywhere will its own democracy,
and democracy throughout the world, be safe. So at a time when
you are forming the institutions of the new Russia, it wishes to extend
to you the hand of good-wall, and to bear witness to its faith in
democracy. It w^ants joii to believe in democracy, in making and
keeping democracy for Russia.

Probably you already do. Perhaps, further, you think that the
Government and people of the United States, who are even now
speaking to you, are undemocratic, imperialistic, and hostile to the
ideals of equal opportunity, industrial democracy, and international-
ism, which stir so much of Russia to-day. We see, indeed, the faults
of our democracy, the many places where we have failed, but in our
hearts we believe in those ideals, and we know that we are struggling
toward them. Because we are fighting for them we believe that they
are the most real thing about us.

Even now we are engaged in a great war, not one of enmity to
any people, not to gain any material thing, but to bring nearer the
realization of those ideals. We do not see how there can be any
guarantee of political, let alone industrial, democracy, any lives of
free and equal opportunity, any brotherhood of mankind in a world
where one government seeks to dominate other nations and refuses
to acknowledge the right of other jjeoples to self-determination.

But whether or not you agree with us about the war as a necessary
step toward their realization, we want to w^ork together with you for
those ultimate ideals of equal opportunity for all, industrial democ-
racy, and internationalism. How can w^e w^ork together if w^e do not
believe in each other's good faith? How can we trust each other if
we do not know each other? So the purpose of the following pages is
to tell you a little about ourselves — to show you that we are working
with the same problems, striving toward the same goals as yourselves.
The solidarity of mankind can be built not out of wishing, but only
out of actual friendships. By helping to establish a common under-

230 REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC USTEORMATIOl^J'.

standing between us we want to lay the basis for such a friendship
and mutual helpfuhiess between the peoples of Russia and America —
a friendship that will be one of the bulwarks of that future world
of peace and liberty in which we both believe.

If you are interested in reading more about America than is con-
tained in the following pages, in which we print some articles already
published in the American Bulletin, please write to the Amerikansky
Bureau Petchate and it will be glad to send you the future issues of
the Bulletin and its other literature.

Eespectfully, yours,

Read Lewis.
Work in Russia — Siberian Activities.

[Beport of Malcolm Davis to Arthue Bullard, Russian Director.]
INTRODUCTORT.

This report on the Siberian activities of the Russian
Division of the Committee on Public Information must
necessarily be a report on a work not developed to its full
possibility because of the necessity of liquidation. The
main work really began only in August and September,
when the opening up of the Siberian railroad line by the
Czecho-Slovaks made it possible to develop a campaign of
public information in what had been Bolshevik Siberia.
The orders for demobilization inevitably following the end
of the war came in the middle of February, when the organ-
ization had been under way about six months and when it
was just reaching full effectiveness in the telling distribu-
tion of its information material, and the results were just
beginning to show.

All the staff recognized the inevitability of the ending of
the work and understood the reasons for it; yet there vv^as
not a member of the organization who did not feel that it
came at a most unfortunate time, considered from the point
of view of Siberia and of Russian relationship generally.
Other nations were developing energetic propaganda cam-
paigns; and the American engineers were finally taking up
the task of railroad reorganization and the American Red
Cross extending its relief activities. These considerations,
together with the fact that it was a critical time in the
discussion of Russian- Allied relations, made the withdrawal
of the American Information Bureau regrettable. That

REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORMATION. 231

this was not merely the feeling of men engaged in the work,
but that it was a view shared by impartial representatives
of the Government of the United States of A merica as well
as by Russians and by representatives of some of the other
Allies, is evidenced by the messages to Washington of Am-
bassador Morris, who was in Vladivostok on a special mis-
sion from Tokio, from Consul General Harris and all his
consular staff, by the telegram of Motosada Zumoto, head of
the Japanese Information Bureau, and by letters from Rus-
sians, all urging the continuance of the work, if possible.

Report On Spring Campaign In 1918.

This next section will cover the period from arrival in
Omsk, on the assignment given in Moscow in March, 1918,
by the director, Arthur Bullard, to William Adams Brown,
jr., and myself, to canvass the field for an American cam-
paign of public information in Siberia and to begin the de-
velopment of a Siberian Department, reporting later to
Moscow. We were to visit Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk,
Chita, Harbin, and Vladivostok, to find, if possible, suitable
Russian representatives in each of the places where we
stopped, who could be relied upon to receive telegraph news
and printed literature, push the circulation of both in his
district, and keep the central office informed upon condi-
tions in his district affecting our work and upon needs for
specially adapted material.

It is unnecessary now to go into the matter of the senti-
ment of the individual newspaper editors. It will suffice to
say that we found the press under the strict control of the
Bolshevik regime. No papers with a political color were be-
ing published in any town visited except the official Bolshe-
vik orga'n and one or two others of the most radical Socialist
revolutionary tendencies. In general, there was less free-
dom for the press in Siberia under the Bolshevik regime
than in Petrograd and Moscow under the same regime. The
separate peace had just been concluded between the German
Government and the "Russian Federated Socialistic Soviet
Republic."

We proceeded on the same policy which had won a meas-
ure of success in Moscow and Petrograd, since we were

232 REPORT COMMITTEE OlsT PUBLIC INFORMATIOl^f.

under orders to attempt to continue publicity in Bolshevik
Kussia and Siberia. It had been decided not to attack Bol-
shevism or discuss political questions in Russia directly, and
to get across as much information as possible about the prin-
ciples of democratic government, the aims of America and
the Allies, the war organization of America and the grow-
ing supremacy of tlie Allied arms^, the actions ox the German
Govenmient, in Russia and other occupied territories and
spheres of influence, and as much general news and special
article material as possible about political and social condi-
tions and ideas in the United States. This work was re-
garded as tending to strengthen every sane democratic move-
ment existing in the country, to give information that might
serve as a basis for w^orking out new problems of government
in the countiy, and to create as much of friendly feeling and
understanding as possible among the common people in
Russia.

We met wdth varying attitudes on the part of the editors
and of the leaders of the " Soviets " or " Councils " which
were in charge of affairs every wdiere. While frankly antag-
onistic to America as a " capitalists' country," they had no
objection to our carrying on a campaign of information so
long as they were sure they knew what we were doing and
that we were not doing anything directly against Bolshe-
vist organization.

Siberians were engrossed in their own political difficulties,
and any question of renewing a war on the western front was
out of their minds. We found that we could use material
on general social and political institutions and on agricul-
ture in America to best advantage, getting in occasionally
some information showing the growing war strength of
America and the increasing certainty of the defeat of the
Central Powers.

Posters. — We had at this time the war anniversary speech
of President Wilson, and this we had printed as a wall
poster, in 50,000 copies, for posting in and around Omsk
and for mail distribution. The circulation was carried out,
after our departure, by a Russian assistant whom we en-
gaged, under the supervision of American Consul Thomson.
An additional 10,000 copies of this poster were later sent to

EEPOET COMMITTEE O'N PUBLIC INEORMATION. 233

Vice Consul Thomas in Krasnoyarsk for display and dis-
tribution there. We also arranged at once for the distribu-
tion of about 15,000 copies each of Mr. Bullard's pamphlet
"Letters of an American Friend," which had been very suc-
cessful, and also of the weekly American Bulletin from the
Moscow office.

Going on to Krasnoj^arsk, we stayed long enough to form
an impression of all the editors and Soviet leaders there,
and to engage a local Russian representative, who was to
work in contact with the American vice consul. We also
arranged for the circulation of material through the co-
operative unions; and for the regular forwarding of tele-
graphic news and printed literature from the central offices
in Moscow. There was a considerable interest in the pos-
sibility of receiving American motion pictures at Kras-
noyarsk, on which we reported, and which we intended to
satisfy upon receipt of equipment at Vladivostok.

In Irkutsk we had from the start the cordial cooperation
of the American Consul MacGowan, whose advice and as-
sistance greatly facilitated the work. We had hardly got
fairly started on the printing and distribution of the 50,000
copies of the Avar anniversary s]3eech, however, when the
work was cut short by formal instructions from Washington,
via Moscow, to leave the field.

Since the Easter holidays were at hand, offering the best
sort of opportunity for getting attention for the President's
address, we decided to stay long enough to make effective use
of the 25,000 copies which had already been run off the
presses. We arranged through a local distributing agency
to have these put up all over town just at the holiday time,
and also to have them distributed among the crowds who
gathered in the central square for the games held in celebra-
tion of the holidays after Easter. About 6,000 copies were
also sent to Chita to American Consul Jenkins for circula-
tion in Chita and the Trans-Baikal region.

In connection with the distribution of this speech there
was an incident which illustrates the conditions under which
work of this sort was done in Siberia, at that time, and the
attitude which often had to be met on the part of the Bol-
shevik officials in control. In order to circulate copies of

234 REPOET COMMITTEE OH PUBLIC INEORMATION.

this address of the President at all, we had to get the ofR-
cial permission of the Irkutsk commissars who were deter-
mining entirely what should be published m the city at the
time. We went to call on Yanson, the commissar for foreign
affairs of the Siberian administration, which v/as located in
Irkutsk. He was at first absolutely opposed to publication of
anything representing an American or Allied point of view.

" You know," said the commissar, " we regard all estab-
lished governments with antagonism, for we aim at a world-
wide revolution which will overthrow the power of the capi-
talists everywhere."

Do you mean," asked we, " that you recognize no differ-
ence between such a Government as the Government of the
United States of America and the Prussian military govern-
ment of Germany" ?

"Absolutely none," replied the commissar. "America is
one financial imperialism and Germany is another. Both
systematically exploit the working class and the people. So
far as we are concerned they are one and the same; and we
are against them both !"

We pointed out to him that the address which we pro-
posed to publish and to circulate in and around Irkutsk
was an official utterance of the Chief Executive of our Na-
tion, that it represented the point of view of the Government
of one of the great powders both Avith regard to the issues
of the war in general and with regard to Hussia, and that
as such it should be published as news, not as propaganda.
We got the necessary rubber-stamped permission to circulate
the copies of the address on the strength of this argument,
and proceeded to plaster the town with copies of the ad-
dress.

Popular^ interest, — It is essential to state that in the
course of doing the work in Siberia we got constant evidence
of friendly feeling for America and confidence in her in-
tentions on the part of the common people not allied with
the Bolsheviks. These people were completely suppressed
for the time being, however, and they could not make their
point of view effective, since the Bolsheviks had all the guns.
They did take our material and circulate it. We got such
expressions of feeling from the railroad men along the

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 235

Trans-Siberian line, and from the students, members of pro-
fessional unions, and cooperative society workers in cities
where we stopped. This feeling was also evidenced in an
incident which occurred after we left Irkutsk. AVe had
left all our printed material and special article material
with the American consul, asking him to giA'C it as much
circulation as possible since we were ordered out of the
region. He gave the material to a representative of an
American firm in Irkutsk. There the material was dis-
plaj^ed on a counter, and in a very short time it was all
gone. The consul afterwards related to us how people
would come in and ask for copies and also for permission
to circulate them among their friends. Representatives of
the railroad workers' unions also came in and asked for per-
mission to reprint at their own cost some of the material
about America, for distribution among their members. This
they actually did; and reported a wide interest in the
propaganda.

We next turned to the question of getting out of Siberia.
At the time there was some question as to the possibility of
passage to Vladivostok around by the Amur Railway line,
inasmuch as the Semeonov fighting with the Bolsheviks was
very close to the line. The line to Harbin was absolutely
closed. Furthermore, the Allied consuls were forbidden at
the time the right to telegraph to their Governments any
reports in cipher code. There was a convenient Chinese
telegraph station at the border point of Maimatchin, near
Kiatkhta, about three days' travel by train and then by boat
up the Sel^nga River from Verkhne-Udinsk. We, there-
fore, decided to go that way and to slip across the border and
send, for a representative of the British consulate who was
in Irkutsk at the time, a code message to Pekin which he
was very anxious to get out. Then we were to drive through
Mongolia and across the Gobi Desert to Peking, taking offi-
cial mail from the American consul to the American Em-
bassy and from the British consul to the British Embassy at
Peking. Following out this plan, we reached Peking on
May 31, having crossed the desert in Ford automobiles run-
ning on the caravan route.

236 EEPOET COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC mEOEMATIOlSr.

Harbin Work.

Upon arrival in Peking, we cabled to Washington, expect-
ing to return to America. We got instructions, however, to
I)roceed to Harbin, Manchuria, on the line, of the Chinese
Eastern Railway, managed b}^ a Russian directorate and
forming an important link on the Trans-Siberian line from
the west to Vladivostok. The towns along the route of the
Russian railroad concession zone were full of Russian refu-
gees from Bolshevik territory. The city of Harbin, at that
time, formed what might be called the external political
capital of Russia, having as residents influential members of
the Russian business and political groups most strongl}^ op-
posed to the Bolshevik regime. It therefore offered a very
fertile field for publicity, combining in its population the ele-
ments above mentioned with the Russian workers in the
large railroad repair shops of the Chinese Eastern Railway.
We purchased a few office supplies in Peking and started for
Harbin on the 10th, arriving there two days later.

The state of public opinion in Harbin and in the general
section around it and reached by its newspapers Avas yerj
uncertain. The German advance on the western front was
still in full progress, and the fresh forces of the American
Army had not yet been thrown into action. The submarine
campaign was continuing, and the facts of American ship-
building were not known as they needed to be known in this
part of the world. The Allies had not yet adopted a policy
of active aid to loyal Russians against the Bolsheviks and
German-Magyar exprisoner forces, so no one knew what
would be the issue of the political situation in Siberia and
Russia. Consequently, there were a great many people who
were listening to the incessant German propaganda, that the
Russian Bolshevik revolution had destroyed the last chance
of the Allies to win, that the entrance of America into the war
was too late to save the situation, that at least the Allies
would be forced to a compromise peace in which Germany
would gain the main advantages or else that Germany would
actually win the decisive victory in the war and thus dom-
inate the international situation. In Russian circles there
were many who believed that a monarchy supported by an
alliance with the Prussian monarchy would be the best thing

EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 237

for Russia; and there were many others who believed that
any force whicli could bring order in Russia would be bene-
ficial, and who, consequently, were ready to turn to Germany
for that result.

MateHal. — We had arranged before leaving Peking for the
forwarding from the American Legation there of the daily
news cable service of the Committee on Public Information
from Washington. We also found in the American consu-
late's care some cases of motion-picture films, about 60 dif-
ferent films in all, some of them in duplicate and triplicate.
There were also some books and pamphlets from America
about American conditions and war organization, sent by the
committee in Washington. The committee had also sent to
the American consul, Mr. Moser, the sum of $5,000 to finance
a campaign of publicity in and around Harbin. This sum
had just come to hand; and Mr. Moser, who was working
under great pressure in the complicated situation in Harbin,
had engaged H. Curtis Vezey, formerly editor of the Russian
Daily News in Petrograd, to act as publicit}^ agent. We re-
tained Mr. Vezey as an assistant, moved into the temporary
office which he had engaged, and started to work at the job
of changing public opinion regarding the Vvar. The sum of
$5,000 was turned over to us by Mr. Moser.

Telegrafh netos, — We began to flood the newsi3apers with
telegrams, translated ready into Russian and furnished free,
regarding the numbers of American troops being transported
each month to France, the numbers of new ships being built
for the battle fleet and merchant marine, amounts of Liberty
loans and other subscriptions for the war, amounts of food-
stuffs shipped to the Allies, and refutations of rumors about
paralyzing strikes in the United States and proofs of the
unity of the people in the effort against the Central Empires.
Fortunately, the newspapers were either friendly to the
Allies or open-minded ; and further, they were comparatively
poor and had no good telegraph news service. The appear-
ance of the free American service was a boon to them. They
printed nearly every line of news that we gave to them, as
the filed record of clippings from the Harbin office will show.

Articles. — We also began to translate special articles on
American national institutions and organizations, on hibor

238 REPORT COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC INFORMATION.

conditions and the labor movement and the reasons why
labor was supporting the Government in the war and would
continue to support it, on various aspects of the life of the
people in America, political, social, economic, tending to
show what advantages they already have and what powers
they have to change conditions constantly for the better,
all intended to show the reasons for American unity and
loyalty. Many of these articles Avere also printed, despite
the comparatively small size of Russian newspapers. The
changed tone of editorial utterances regarding the war
showed the cumulative effect of the propaganda. All utter-
ances by the President were also translated and sent to the
papers, and they were invariably published and commented
on.

During all of this period our assistant, Mr. Vezey, whom
we employed on a part-time arrangement, was publishing
our news in English in his Russian Daily I^ews, transported
from Petrograd for the consuls and members of the foreign
colony. Occasionally, when especially important news ar-
rived, an evening telegraph bulletin in Russian was gotten
out by the Russian Daily ISrews and sold on the streets,
which made a very useful and effective form of quick- action
publicity.

We had the full cooperation of Mr. Moser, the American
consul, and his assistants from the start, the consul having
felt the need for American publicity in Harbin for a long
time and greeting the arrival of special men for this work
with generous cordiality.

Fourth of July, — ^We cooperated with the consulate in the
arrangement of an Inter- Allied celebration of American In-
dependence Day, which was held with considerable success.
There were some American sports, organized hj the local
representatives of the Young Men's Christian Association, a
short program in solenniization of the day, with the reading
of the Declaration of Independence in English and Russian
and also of a special message to the Russian and Allied com-
nuuiity in Harbin from Secretary of State Lansing, for-
warded from Washington. A¥e had programs for the day
printed, with the text of the Declaration of Independence in
Enti'lish and in Russian. These were read with noticeable in-
terest, very few Russians being familiar with the principles

KEPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOKMATIOIT. 239

upon which the foundation of the American Republic was
based as expressed in the Dechiration. The program closed
with some American music. Uncle Sam, in costume, received
his guests. The whole affair left a pleasant impression ; and
we felt that the comparatively small sum of money we gave
in meeting certain extra expenses not covered b}^ voluntary
subscriptions Avas quite justified by the value of having
helped to create friendship in an Allied meeting under
American auspices and having spread a knowledge of the
meaning of the American anniversary.

Motion fictures. — Finally, we sorted our motion-picture
films into programs and arranged for a week of American
official motion pictures in one of the Harbin theaters for the
benefit of the Russian Red Cross. The pictures which we had
were mainly military and industrial, with a few travel pic-
tures of America and some weekly news review films. We
had the excellent film, "The Remaking of a Nation," and
also much other film showing Army training in the United
States. We divided the films off into programs as well bal-
anced as possible; and then covered the town with advertise-
ments and distributed handbills for the week's program,
Avhich we entitled "America for the Allies."

The pictures were well attended by mixed audiences and
made a considerable impression. We had quite as many
Japanese as Russians in the theater usually; and the Japa-
nese often stayed through all the performances making
notes of their impressions on the military and naval films.
Indeed, the Japanese always took an intent interest in all
our publicity. The motion pictures showing the efificient
drilling of the new army of America, and the poAver of the
battle fleet, however, seemed to impress them most of all.
The impression which we were trying to make constantly
was that America was with the Allies, and for them, heart
and soul, and that she was throwing into the fight every bit
of strength and resource that she could make effective, a fact
which was making the ultimate triumph of the Allied arms
sure. The motion pictures, consequently, counted at the
right time as corrective to any German propaganda of Allied
defeat. The pictures also served as an excellent prelude to
the news which we were able to give shortly afterwards
about the first victorious American drive at Chateau-Thierry,

240 KEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATION.

and the turning of the tide of battle which developed into
victory.

Charging off to propaganda the cost of the posters and
pamphlets which we had printed in connection with the film
shows, and also of the newspaper advertising and printing
of tickets, we had a balance sufficient to donate 1,500 rubles
to the Harbin Chapter of the Russian Red Cross after re-
peating the performances in a second theater in another part
of the city. If we had not made this donation we would
have above covered expenses, including the theater rental
and the city stamp tax on tickets. On the other hand, we
would have forfeited the friendly feeling created by the gift
and by the fact that in the city it was known that the pic-
tures were not given for the sake of any profit to the Ameri-
can Information Bureau.

The pictures had English flash titles, so we arranged to
show them with a lecturer who explained each picture in
Russian and who answered any questions about it from the
audience. After finishing the showings in Harbin, the pic-
tures were sent out along the line of the Chinese Eastern
Railroad in Manchuria to the Russian theaters in Tsitsikar,
Hailar, and Manchuria Station. On their return they were
sent to the office which had by that time been opened in
Vladivostok to have Russian titles put in.

Extent of iield. — When we first arrived in Harbin the lines
to Vladivostok and to Siberia were, of course, closed. The
Bolsheviks were still in control and fighting between them
and Semeonov was going on along the line between Man-
churia Station and Chita. The Harbin newspapers, however,
were the only ones in Russian in Manchuria, and were sent
to every Russian community. Consequently, by placing ma-
terial in these papers, we were reaching all Russian news-
paper readers. The Harbin papers were also sent through
whenever possible, by various individual ways, to Vladi-
vostok, to Habarovsk, to Blagovestchensk, and to Chita;
and there they were read and often reprinted by the editors
of local papers. In this way, consequently, we were reach-
ing as much of the Siberian field as possible at the moment.
When a paper was established at Station Manchuria, we
started sending our telegrams and special articles there ; and
when another was started in Sakhalan, just across the river

REPORT COMMITTEE OE" PUBLIC INF0RMATI02S'. 241

in Manchuria from Blagovestchensk, we began sending ma-
terial there. We also arranged with a Eussian in that town
to act as a local representative and to get printed material
across the river into Blagovestchensk whenever possible. We
also tried to send material down the Sungari Eiver to
Habarovsk.

Pamphlets, — ^The President's speech at Mount Vernon,
which we printed in a pamphlet to the number of 10,000
copies in Harbin, in addition to securing publication in the
newspapers, was distributed in Harbin and through Man-
churia in these various ways.

The American proclamation of August 3, regarding Rus-
sia, caused a very animated discussion in the Harbin press.
We printed 20,000 copies of the statement and distributed
them as well as possible in Harbin and Manchuria, sending
some to Sakhalen for Blagovestchensk, and some to Vladi-
vostok. In this distribution, the American Railroad Mis-
sion was very helpful. We also had selections from the an-
nouncement made into plates for projection on the moving-
picture screen and showed them in two motion-picture
theaters.

Post cards, — From the large number of photographs sent
us from Washington by the committee 25 were selected, and
after some difficulty we arranged to have cuts made of them
and have them printed in the form of post cards for sale
in railroad stations and stationery stores,

MAIN SIBERIAX CAMPAIGN.
REPORT ON ORGANIZATION OF Vv^ORK IN VLADIVOSTOK.

This section of the report will take up the development
of the Committee on Public Information service from the
time of the opening of the Siberian Railroad by the Czecho-
slovaks in the summer — ^first of the road to Vladivostok
from Harbin, where we were located for Compub work in
June, and afterwards of the road through to the Urals, giv-
ing a chance for general Siberian work.

The first survey of the field in Vladivostok was made by
William Adams Brown, jr., who was sent down from Har-
bin in July to arrange the first showings of American propa-

121033—20 16

242 REPORT COMMITTEE 01S[ PUBLIC IIsTFORMATlOlS'.

ganda motion pictures in Vladivostok. Mr. Brown ar-
ranged two successful showings of the films in the Sinnmer
Garden. He also canvassed the field in the cit}^ generally
and telegraphed liis conclusions as to the need for establish-
ing Compub work in Vladivostok. Our instructions from
Washington were onl}^ to go to Harbin and to start Compub
work there. It seemed obvious, however, that the more
centers in which publicity work could be organized, the bet-
ter; and since it was possible to finance some work in ad-
vance of the arrival of the director, Arthur Bullard, with
his party, telegraphic instructions were sent to Brown in
Vladivostok to make preliminary arrangements and to en-
gage a Vladivostok Eussian assistant. He tentatively en-
gaged Mr, Tilicheieff, who was formerly with us in Irkutsk,
and returned to Harbin to report. I went to Vladivostok
from Harbin early in August. The need of work was being
urgently pointed out hj the consulate and by Admiral
Knight, commander of the cruiser Brooklyn^ as well as by
Americans generally who passed through the district. No
representative of the Committee on Public Information had
ever been stationed there. The cruiser Brooklyn was doing
ever^^thing possible to spread American information, giv-
ing the wireless reports of news received daily to the Amer-
ican consulate, which in turn distributed the dispatches to
the daily papers. This was all that these alread^^ overbusy
representatives of the American Government could do.

This was the situation at the beginning of the Compub
campaign in the middle of August. We made the first tasks
to secure offices and a staff, get the telegraph nevN^s service
organized to furnish authorized translations for the press,
get a special article service started, continue the showing of
American motion pictures, and start the printing of the
pamphlet, "Letters of an American Friend," which has been
successful in Eussia and for which we had the text. Our
idea was to have two bases in readiness for the director on
his arrival, in working order, with the necessary initial staff
in the offices, so that either one could be developed as a main
ofiice if necessary, or continued as a branch office. The
choice fell to Vladivostok, the Harbin work being continued
as subsidiary.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION, 243

Preliminary work. — ^Through tlie courtes}?^ of the Eiissian-
American Chamber of Commerce my Eussian assistant and
I were given the temporary use of one room in an office at
67 Svethmskaya (tlie main street), until we could find more
suitable permanent quarters. This became tlie American
Press Bureau until about the middle of September. In it
we started to issue a daily English bulletin of the telegrams
for the Allied consulates and officials, and tliis also went to
the French Eed Cross for translation for the French troops.
The daily bulletin Avas also translated into Eussian and dis-
tributed to the Eussian newspapers in Vladivostok, Nikolsk-
Ussurisk. and Harbin, Avhich latter city received the English
dispatches daily over the Eailroad Mission telegraph wire
free, the service from Peking being discontinued. A. repeti-
tion of the American motion pictures was arranged for the
benefit of Czecho-Slovak wounded, and the pictures were
run off to good audiences. Selections were also made from
material of the Foreign Press Bureau, brought from Har-
bin, and a series of special articles Avas started out to the
editors of the various papers for reprinting. The service
was coordinated with that sent out from Harbin, and the
articles were well received and often published by the pa-
pers. These were the activities imcler way when I left for
Japan at the end of August to meet Mr. BuUard's party,
leaving instructions to keep up the search for a larger per-
manent office on the main street and to continue to get in
touch with translators and t^^pists, and have a list ready
for an office staff if needed on our return.

This work Mr. Carl E. Krantz did very efficiently and
faithfully. I could not give him better credit for his activity
and loyal work in my absence than by stating the results
of it. On my return early in September with the bulk of the
BuUard party — Mr. Bullard himself having gone to Harbin
by way of Korea before coming down to Vladivostok — ^Mr.
Krantz had ready a list of about 25 qualified translators
and typists, and had followed up one of the various possible
office propositions on which he had been working so that we
secured these offices in the store of Konovaloff, at Svet-
lanskaya 10, equipped them, and were able to move shortly
after the middle of September into well-located and roomy
offices with a large window on the main street where maps

244 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

and display bulletins could be shown. We had also in the
meantime arranged for the use of two living rooms in the
house where he was staying^ and this was later extended to
the use of five rooms, which were adequate for the tem-
porary^ needs of the committee men passing through Vladi-
vostok, thus solving the difficult problem of living space
in this extremely congested city. Eight to ten men, for the
period of a month or six weeks, slept and breakfasted to-
gether in these rooms, using one as a central living room.

M otion Picture Division, — ^Thc first problem upon arrival
from Japan, aside from the closing of the contract for the
press office on Svetlanskaya, was the securing of adequate
space for the development of a motion-picture laboratory.

The following memorandum of G. S. Bothwell, technical
director, indicates some of the difficulties encountered in es-
tablishing in Vladivostok the Motion Picture Division of the
Committee on Public Information up to January 18, 1919:

We arrived in Vladivostok early in Septeinber and started imme-
diately to find a suitable building. We were switcbed about from
place to place by tlie local government until we were entirely dis-
gusted. Finally we got a requisition for No. 7 Suifunskaya. The
tenants in tliis building were practically out of business on account
of the war.

In the lirst place, we bad brought no apparatus or chemical sup-
plies along to malve titles, as we did not expect to do this work and we
knew nothing about the water or climatic conditions. As it was
almost impo;:,sij)]e to get any of this appai'atus from the United States
within a reasonable tin:e on account of transportation facilities, we
decided t ) buihl our own stufi' out of raw material, such as could be
found here, and buy om- cliemicals in Japan. It might be well to
mention that up to this time no one had been able to make moving-
pictures or moving-picture titles in Siberia. The English tried it at
Archangel and failed and the young IMen's Christian Association and
Red Gross tried It in Vladivostok and failed.

The building we worked in is like most other buildings in Vladi-
vostok. It neithei- has water supply nor sewerage systems, as this
is almost unknown in this place. In order to turn out any quantity
of these titles we found it necessary to liave running water and at
an expense of 25,000 rubles, we put in a water supply Mud sewerage
system which meets all requirements of the city's laws. However,
after tins system was completed and all arrangements had been agreed
upon, the city authorities refused to turn water on and kept us three
weeks or more without running water.

We had employed about 30 people in the Film Division and only
one in the whole bunch ever saw a moving-picture film before. Ex-
perienced help in this line is simply out of the question.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC Il^FORMATION. 245

All goods shipped here were considerably damaged in transit in
Japan or by the customs people, possibly both. We found it necessary
to establish a machine shop, and as the Russian Government had
many lathes lying on the wharves rusting and fast becoming worth-
less we tried to requisition one. We were switched from one party
to another by the Russian authorities until we were figliting mad and
at last pinned them down to facts. We were informed that if we
deposited 16,000 rubles in a bank a commission would let us know
how nuich they Avould charge us for a lathe worth at the most $50.

Despite these obstacles, for the past month we have been turning
out about 2,500 feet of completed titles each day, quite a number of
still pictures, and some motion pictures, both negative and positive.

Shortly after we arrived, about October 1, 1918, we received 70
reels of tilm — weeklies, current events, and news pictures. These had
been sent to Harbin, IVIanchuria. We loaned them to the cruiser
Brooklyn and People's House (Narodni Dom). The Brooldijn ex-
hibited to Gzecho- Slovaks and Russians as well as American troops.
The People's House was an all-Russian audience and they used an
interpreter.

The Young Men's Christian Association had a number of pictures
belonging to us. Around the 1st of October, we secured some of this
film and loaned it to the Cooperative Society, and they sent it into
all the towns and villages they could reach. Transportation was sim-
ply terrible. It is beyond me to describe it. The Cooperative Society
sent a lecturer-translator on these trips, as our film had English
titles and was almost as understandable as it would be if you showed
motion i)ictures with Russian titles in the United States. Union of
Amur Cooperatives also used most of our educational film in the
schoolhouses in and around Vladivostok.

About the middle of October we received our shipment of ma-
chines and film that we brought to Japan and the Japanese held up
when we reshipped from Kobe to Vladivostok. This is a long story,
and it is not possible to exactly place the responsibility.

However, after we received this film, we mad(i many attempts to
get distribution and found it most discouraging. The picture houses
would not use these pictures without Russian titles and graciously
offered to show them for us if we would insert good Russian titles
and pay them for exhibiting first-class American films.

We then got the Vladivostok Zemstvo, (Russian self-government for
local districts) interested with fine results. They agreed to take our
industrial and educational pictures throughout Siberia and show
them in the towns and villages if we would supply the complete outfit
consisting of generator, motion-picture machine, etc., which we gladly
did, and the results were most satisfactory. The first show w^as for the
agriculture districts and the reports were simi)ly great. The village
comnmne is common all over Siberia, and these people in many
instances want to buy tractors and other farming implements col-
lectively. They ask no end of questions and beg for farming in-
structors from America. They are also considering sending some of

246 REPORT COMMITTEE OlST PUBLIC INFORMATION.

their o^Y^ people to the United States to learn how to raise the tall
f,^talks of corn we sliow in the pictures. Their enthusiasm is great.
When the VJadivostok Zemstvo first informed the other zemstvos
about the proposed motion picture venture they immediately sent
in money to the local zemstvo from 8,000 to 25,000 rubles each to
have the exhibition in their districts.

We now handle all the educational work through the Vladivostok
Zemstvo with gratifying success. The last show we sent out the
week of January 20 is to go to the mining districts. We will probably
send out more of these shows during the next month if we receive
more education films in the shipment that is now due. We also send
films to the Russian army training schools.

We have now started our first shows with the regular motion-
picture houses and their business has increased. Our Russian titles
are real Russian and they like them.

In January a successful series of motion-picture entertain-
ments for the benefit of school children was arranged by Mr.
Phil Norton, acting director of the committee, in coopera-
tion with the Vladivostok Parents' Committees. Programs
of American and Russian music, in which Mrs. Norton sang,
were given in connection with these entertainments.

Mr. Bothwell deserves great credit for the manner in
which he carried through the development of the motion-
picture plant in the face of Vladivostok difficulties.

Printing frohlenis. — The following extract from the re-
port of Otto T. Glaman, show-s also sonie difficulties encoun-
tered ill Vladi\ ostok in procuring facilities necessary for
publicity w^ork :

I arrived at Vladivostok October 20, and immediately took up the
various probleins encountered in procuring (1) printing facilities
for a weekly journal it has been decided to publish ; (2) paper for the
printing of the Compub publication; (3) distribution and editorial
rooms and offices.

Printing facilities : I found that the printing facilities available
for possible Compub publications were very limited not only as re-
gards actually mechanical appliances but also as regards inclination
on the part of the Russians to do our work, the latter attitude being,
in my opinion, accounted for by two reasons. Distrust was shown
toward all foreign propaganda activities because of past experiences,
as a number of foreign propaganda agencies had resorted to such
means as subsidizing newspapers; and this distrust was augmented
by the fact that the Russians were dissatisfied with the military in-
activity of the United States and the Allies.

The printing plant of the newspaper Delckaya Okraina, owned
by one Pantaleyeff, I was able to persuade to do our work only by
overbidding the orders received by Pantaleyeff for schoolbooks,

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 247

whicli the coiuiriittce was veiy reluctant to do, but which remained
the only altei^native. The Delokaya Okraina, as a matter of fact,
granted the committee better facilities than it had been hoped were
procurable, as immediately paper was available in sufficient quantity
the Compub Weekly Journal appeared most regularly every week,
without any interruption.

The Zemstvo printing shop was given a try at printing the Compub
pamphlet entitled " Germany's Attempt to Control Eussia," hwt for
100,000 copies of this publication the committee had to pay 60,00:)
rubles whereas for 100,000 copies of the pamphlet entitled " Letters
of an American Friend," containing the same number of pages and
of the same size, the committee paid the Delokaya Okraina printing
shop only 37,000 rubles. The Oriental Institute printing shop was
tried but showed little interest in our orders.

The one factor in the printing situations in Vladivostok that was
not satisfactory as regards the shop of the Delokaya Okraina han-
dling our work, was that flat-bed presses, which are the only available
form of press in this part of the world, did not make it possible to
print in sufficient numbers. The Weekly Journal started at 30,000
copies weekly, later Increased to 40,000 copies. Our field offices were
in a position to handle much greater numbers than the Vladivostok
Feeder office was able to produce with these flat-bed presses and the
available supply of paper.

Paper supplies : The paper situation was even more complicated
than the i)rinting press shortage, in view of the fact that there are
presses in the interior of Russia which are standiijg idle for want of
paper. Both Harbin and Ekaterinburg have offered us printing
plants, to be sold to us outright, which shows that everywhere in
Siberia paper shortage is very acute. Irkutsk newspapers begged
Brown to urge the War Trade Board to hurry paper out there, other-
wise the districts would shortly be without newspapers altogether.
I managed to purchase a supply of paper, sufficient for our imme-
diate needs, in Shanghai — old stocks of Swedish newspaper paper —
and also stocks or anticipated arrivals of paper in Japan. Thus we
covered our requirements until approximately May, allowing a margin
of safety.

Quarters : After long negotiations we secured of a restaurant keeper
his third-rate establishment at Borodinskaya 25, paying him his out-
of-pocket expenses for renovating and rearranging the place. Under
the able direction of Mrs. Bullard, this place was altered into office
premises suitable for a Government organization to occupy.

Publications. — The following is from a report letter of
Graham R. Taylor :

The publications issued by the committee from its publication office
in Vladivostok are the follow^ing :

The Friendly Word, weekly magazine; 14 issues totaling 288
pages and 522,350 copies.

248 BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOPvMATIOlJT.

Letters of an American Friend, by Arthur Bullarcl; 150,000
copies.

American Activity in Siberia, by Arthur Bullard ; 100,000 copies.

America and Peace ; 100,550 copies.

German Plot to Control Russia; 100,000 copies.

Typhus (handbill) ; 24,000 copies.

Development of Education in the United States, by Prof. W. F.

Ilussell ; 64-page booklet, 50,000 copies.
Speeches of President Wilson, 48-page booklet; 100,000 copies.

The first five issues of the Friendly Word and the pamphlets Letters
of an American Friend, American Activity in Siberia, America and
Peace, and German Plot to Control Russia v^^ere issued under the
editorial direction of Mr. Malcolm Davis and business management
of Mr. O. T. Glaman. The publications issued imder my direction
include issues 6 to 14, inclusive, of the Friendly Word, the handbill
on the prevention of typhus, the booklet on the Development of Edu-
cation in the United States, and the booklet containing speeches by
President Wilson.

The fundamental purpose which has guided in the preparation of
these publications, nearly all of which have been issued subsequent
to th(^ signing of the armistice, has been: (1) Statement of America's
aims and activities, as shown in official utterances, m her efforts for
a permanent, democratic peace and the establishment of the League
of Nations; and (2) interpretation of the democratic ideals and prog-
ress of American life, in an effort to convey to the Russian people a
larger understanding of America, and to promote friendship between
the Russian and American peoples. The extent to which this purpose
has been accomplished will appear in a complete set of our publica-
tions and in the reports from the representatives of the committee
throughout Siberia, showing the distribution of the weekly maga-
zine Friendly Word and the various pamphlets and the impression
which they have created among the Russian people. The substance
of this report from the publication office, therefore, lies in the con-
tents of these publications. They have been issued under conditions
of most extraordinary difficulty — difficulty in securing office quarters ;
in organizing a staff of Russian assistants ; in finding and purchasing
paper, even of poor quality and at high prices ; in finding a printing
office equipped to do the necessary work ; in pushing work through
when there were almost daily interruptions due to the failure of the
power and light supply, sometimes for hours at a time, during the
breakdowns of the Vladivostok electric plant ; in the manufacture of
half-tones for illustrations, the total output procurable in Vladivostok
being usually not more than four or five a week, at prices often three
times as great as in America ; and in many other ways due to the
disturbed and disorganized condition of life in Siberia.

Friendly Word, weeJdy ^nagazine. — Together with the file of the 14
numbers of the Friendly Word submitted herewith, will be found the
complete material in English from which the translations into Rus-

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 249

sian were made. Some of this material was drawn from the cable
service of the Committee on Public Information, and this includes
particularly the texts of the notes exchanged between the various
nations leading up to the armistice, and the speeches of President
Wilson.

The main portion of the material was received from the Foreign
Press Bureau of the Committee on Public Information in Noav York
City, and it included many articles and news notes which were used
in full, others which were shortened or condensed, and others which
were used as the basis for the preparation of material adapted to
meet space conditions orl;he interest of the Siberian public. And all
of the illustrations appearing in the Friendly Word are from half-
tones or photographs which were sent by the Foreign Press Bureau.

The remaining portion of the material used in the F'riendly Word
was almost wholly written by members of the staft! of the Russian
Division. This included various editorial notes and articles ; the
articles on American Activity in Siberia, by Arthur Bullard ; the series
of arjfcicles by Prof, W. F. Russell on the Development of Education
in America ; a series of four articles on the League of Nations, by
E. D. Schoonmaker ; and a series of four articles on health — Typhus,
Tuberculosis, Milk, and Infant Feeding — ^by Dr. Joshua Rosett.

The total number of pages in the 14 issues of the Friendly Word
was 288. These were distributed roughly as follows :

Pages.

Cover pages and announcements 34

America's efforts for peace 16

League of Nations 41

Agricultural and rural topics 21

City improvement 20

Education 34

American Government and citizenship 21

American and Russian relations 8

American efforts in Siberia 10

Health 13

Industry and labor 9

Commerce 9

Women's life 18

American activities in Europe 10

Demobilization and readjustment of Army 5

Miscellaneous 19

Total ^ 288

The total number of illustrations was 93.

250 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

The number of copies of Friendly Word issued were as follows :

No. 1 30, 250

No. 2 30,000

No. 3 . 30,000

No. 4 34,500

No. 5 40,000

No. 6 39,500

No. 7 40, 000

No. 8 39, 500

No. 9 ^ 40, 250

No. 10 40, 000

No. 11 1 41, 350

No. 12 . 40, 000

No. 13 40, 000

No. 14 37, 000

Total 522,350

These 522,350 copies were distributed to the various offices of the
committee as follows :

Ekaterinburg 95, 000

Omsk 142,000

Novo Nikolaevsk (distribution by American

consul) 17, 500

Irkutsk 122,200

Chita 70, 000

Harbin 24, 000

Vladivostok 44, 900

Distributed from Oompub car 6, 750

Total 522,350

This distribution was greatly facilitated by the generous coopera-
tion of the Czecho- Slovak authorities in permitting the shipment of
bundles of copies in the weekly mail car operated by the Czecho-
slovaks on the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

From each of the offices of the committee copies were sent, as far
as possible, to individual addresses. Each copy was thus made to
count effectively. The mailing lists included governmental and local
officials, libraries, reading rooms, universities and schools, officers and
members of Zemstvos, cooperative societies and peasant unions, per-
sons who wrote letters expressing interest and requesting copies, etc.
In many cases organizations such as Zemstvos, cooperative societies,
peasant unions, teachers organizations, literary societies, and. com-
mercial and industrial bodies, took an active interest in distributing
copies to their members.

The details of distribution and the response accorded to tlie
Friendly Word and the other publications of the committee appear
more fully in the reports by tlie representatives of the committee
throughout Siberia.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 251

Letters of an American Friend, — Of this pamphlet of 24 pages,
written by Arthur BuIIard, Director of the Russian Division, ex-
pressing the friendly interest of America in the democratic progress
of the Russian people and explaining the principles of American
democracy, there were published 150,000 copies, distributed as follows :

Ekaterinburg 25, 000

Omsk 22, 000

Irkutsk 22, 000'

Chita 16, 000

Harbin 6, 000

Vladivostok . 51, 500

Distributed from Compub car 7, 500

Total 150,000

Car used by Messrs. Davis and Glaman on inspection trip.

American Activity in Siberia — ^This pamphlet of 8 pages, contain-
ing a reprint of an article by Arthur BuUard, Director of the Rus-
sian Division, which originally appeared in the Friendly Word, was
published in an edition of 100,000 copies, distributed as follows:

Ekaterinburg 27, 000

Omsk 24, 000

Irkutsk 20, 000

Chita 12, 000

Harbin 8, 000

Vladivostok 4,000

Distributed from Compub car 5,000

Total 100, 000

America and Peace — ^This pamphlet of 16 pages, compiled by M. W.
Davis, containing, with an introduction, the texts of the notes ex-
changed between the various nations in the negotiations leading up
to the armistice, and passages from President Wilson's speeches bear-
ing on peace, was published in an edition of 100,550, distributed as

follows :

Ekaterinburg 11, 000

Omsk 22, 000

Novo Nikolaevsk (distribution by American Con-
sul) , 4,000i

Irkutsk 20, 000

Chita 11, 000

Harbin 6, 000

Vladivostok 7, 800

Distributed from Compub car 18, 750

Total 100, 550

The German Plot To Control Russia. — This pamphlet of 16 pages,
by :M, W. Davis, after consultation with Mr. BuUard, containing the

252 REPORT COMMITTEE 02Sr PUBLIC IN"FORMATION.

substance of tile documents in tlie Sisson report made public by the
Committee on Public Information to show the character of German
activity in Russia, was published in an edition of 100,000 copies and

distributed as follows:

Ekaterinburg 23, 000

Omsk 18,000

Irkutsk 13, 000

Chita 9,500

Harbin 3, 500

Vladivostok 28, 000

Distributed from Compub car 5,000

Total 100,000

Typhus handUll. — This handbill, containing a reprint of an article
in the Friendly Word designed to give information in popular form
concerning ways whereby each individual and family could help
combat the epidemic of typhus in Siberia, was printed in an edition
of 24,000 and distributed as follows:

Ekaterinburg 4, 000

Omsk 5,000

Novo Nikolaevsk (distributed by American con-
sul) 2, 000

Irkutsk 7, 000

Chita 3,000

Harbin : 2, 000

Vladivostok 1, 000

Total 24, 000

Development of Education in the United States. — This booklet of
64 pages, containing a reprint of the 14 educational articles by Prof.
W. F. Russell, of the State University of Iowa, which were originally
published in the Friendly Word, was published in an edition of 50,000
and, in accordance with instructions from the main office of the com-
mittee in Washington, the entire edition, issued just prior to the
termination of the committee's work in Siberia, was turned over to
the American consul in Vladivostok for distribution under the super-
vision of the various consular officers in Siberia.

Speeches of President ^Vilson, — This booklet of 48 pages was pub-
lished in an edition of 100,000 copies, 7,000 on a good quality of paper
for distribution to libraries, reading rooms, schools, universities and
officials, and 93,000 on cheap paper for popular distribution. It con-
tained the following speeches:

America IMust Accept War. April 2, 1917.
^ Memorial Day Address. May 30, 1917.
Statement to Russia. June 9, 1917.

Address to the American Federation of Labor. November 12,
1917.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 253

America's Terms for General Peace. January 8, 1918.

Who is Responsible? The Answer to Germany and Austria.
February 11, 1918.

Freedom or Slavery? Address on the Opening of the Cam-
paign for the Third Liberty Loan. April 6, 1918.

America's War Aims Restated. Fourth of July Address at Mount
Vernon. July 4, 1918.

Address on the Opening of the Campaign for the Fourth Liberty
Loan. September 27, 1918.

Passages from Addresses Delivered on Arrival in Europe.
December, 1918.

The League of Nations. Address at the Peace Conference in
Paris. January 25, 1919.

The entire edition, issued just prior to the termination of the
committee's work in Siberia, was, in accordance with the instruc-
tions received from the main office of the committee in Washington,
turned over to the American consul in Vladivostok for distribution
under the supervision of the various consular officers in Siberia.

In concluding this brief summary of the publication work of the
Russian Division it should be stated that after barely six months of
effort the work had arrived at a stage of efficient operation when, in
accordance with instructions, its discontinuance became necessary.

The Friendly Word especially, as the principal channel for dis-
seminating information about America, had been developed to a
point w^here it was meeting with rapidly widening interest and in-
creasing appreciation on the part of all elements of the Siberian
people. Each issue had been an improvement on the preceding one,
and the final issue, No. 14, was 32 pages in size, with 22 illustrations,
and presented a broad interpretation of various phases of American
life. Its discontinuance called forth many expressions of regret from
its Russian readers and friends. The termination of the weekly maga-
zine and of the work of the committee in Siberia w^as considered by
many Russians to be an indication that, despite all the expressions of
interest and friendship on the part of America toward the Russian
people, the real interest of America was merely to gain and utilize
support in the struggle against German autocracy, and was not based
upon genuine and lasting friendship.

To counteract this impression, care was taken to point out in the
editorial announcement in the final issue of the Friendly Word, that
the discontinuance of the magazine and the work of the committee in
Siberia was due to tlie inevitable contraction and readjustment of
American governmental activities from a war to a peace basis, and
that this process naturally involved the Committee on Public Informa-
tion which had been created as a war agency. But the experience of
the Russian Division shows the great value of an information service
from one country to another. And it is to be hoped that the American
people may find a way to reestablish and extend such a service for the
promotion of mutual understanding, which is the foundation of friend-
ship between peoples.

254 EEPORT COMMITTEE OH PUBLIC IITFOEMATIOlSr.

FIELD ORGANIZATION.

The scope of this report does not give opportunity to in-
clude the reports of the individual field men in Chita,
Irkutsk, Omsk, Ekaterinaburg, and Chelyabinsk, which con-
tain much interesting detail. They worked loyally and'
hard in the service, with a spirit of cooperation which made
the whole relationship a pleasure. Special notice is due to
the service of W. A. Brown, jr., who had the hardest physical
conditions to face. He traveled on freight cars and crowded
third and fourth class cars constantly, and never complained
of hardship if a piece of work could be done. He went to
Perm as soon as possible after its capture from the Bolshe-
viks, and had literature dropped across their lines from air-
planes.

In general, the distribution from the field offices was car-
ried out by developing personal mailing lists so that every
one of our restricted number of copies would count, or by
giving limited numbers to people or organizations to dis-
tribute them personally.

The daily telegraph news service was extended to reach
nearly all Siberian papers through an agreement with the
Russian Telegraph Agency at Omsk, reached through R. E.
Winters, our representative there.

In addition, our bulletins in English were sent by Ameri-
can headquarters at Vladivostok to Chita and relayed by
our man there to the other field men, so that each would have
the service in full.

The field men also received weekly packages by mail, with
special articles already translated for the press and full sets
of the bulletin accompanying a regular service letter.

Early in January Otto T. Glaman, business manager, and
I started out for a tour of the field to get in touch with the
men in the several offices and to coordinjate their activities
further if necessary. We traveled in a freight car, which
had been made over into an office car, with a sleeping com-
partment and a kitchen and a brakeman'^s compartment,
specially for this purpose by the American Railway Mission.
We also had a smaller freight car as trailer, with a stock of
literature and of fuel and food supplies for ourselves and
the field man.

BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 255

The Harbin office, which Vvc visited first, we found not
very active. This had become a minor office since the cen-
ters of interest shifted to Vladivostok and to western Si-
beria, its main responsibility being the receipt and distribu-
tion of a small amount of literature for Harbin and other
partly Eussian communities in Manchuria along the line of
the railway. The Harbin office was the only one in which
there was any sign of lack of energy or interest.

The Chita office, under Franklin Clarkin, which we visited
next, was especially well organized. A large personal ad-
dress list had been worked up; and nearly ever;^ copy of
our sadly limited amount of literature sent out from this
office was going by request to some individual who would
be sure to read it and circulate it, while copies distributed
in bunches were strictly controlled and were sent to organ-
izations which circulated them to their members direct.
These were the principles of distribution which we urged
throughout the field. In Irkutsk we received the demobiliza-
tion orders, and from there on the original purpose of the
trip was automatically changed. We went to Omsk, where
we took Brown, from Ekaterinburg, and Winters, from Omsk,
office manager, on board with us and started back for Vladi-
vostok on March 2. Bakeman, the Irkutsk manager, re-
turned in a consulate car, and Clarkin, from Chita, with us.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS.

To estimate the results and the consequent value of a cam-
paign of public information which could not be completed
is both difficult and problematical. Nevertheless, I am con-
fident in saying that all of the men engaged in the work,
and also men in other official American services, felt at the
close that the effort had justified itself and been worth
while.

The telegraph news service alone^ reaching ISO Siberian
papers by our arrangement with the Russian Telegraph
Agency in Omsh^ was a great influence.

When the division was ordered to demobilize, the friendly
attitude of other American agencies, and especially the cor-
dial cooperation of the headquarters of the American Expe-
ditionary Forces and of the consulate general and branch

256 REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION.

consulates, Avere evidence that useful work had been accom-
plished. This evidence was reinforced by many expressions
from Russians, samples of whose letters are given at the end
of the report.

Slimming up the results of the work, I should say that the
most valuable effect was the creation of a new sense of
acquaintance with America and with the spirit of the Ameri-
can people. As one Siberian editor wrote :

I think that I am not mistaken when I say that owing to the
activities of the representatives of the American Press Bureau, demo-
cratic America wiU never again become a strange country of indus-
trial kings to the population of Siberia.

This establishment of a knowledge of the life and char-
acter of the rank and file of the American people, and of the
broad range of their interests and activities, together with a
sense of mutual sympathetic interest in common ideals and
aspirations, is the most important achievement of the Sibe-
rian Department. The circulation of our material on the
organization and growth of a modern democracy, with its
creative principles of constructive change and development,
may also do much to clear up the confusion existing in many
Russian minds challenged for the first time with the problem
of working out their own difficulties. All the evidence is
that the work has laid a basis of friendly interest which will
remain for future relations of cooperative good will.

Coupled with this broader result and contributing to it,
are certain very specific things which the Siberian Depart-
ment did. By circulating broadcast information about
American war organization and activity, it helped to con-
vince the public mind in Siberia of the potential power of
America and its promise of victory during the critical days
when the issue of the war was still in doubt in 1918. By
circulating information about the American peace program
and the League of Nations proposal, embodied in the ad-
dresses of President Wilson, it helped to establish confidence
in the genuine disinterested sincerity of America as a Nation
and as a democracy in matters of international policy. By
circulating information regarding the American policy con-
cerning Russia, it served to create confidence in America as
a country not seeking for internal control in Russia and
Siberia and truly interested in free and fair play for Rus-

BEPOET COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOBMATIOlSr. 257

sians in the settlement of their own affairs. The circulation
of information regarding the activities of American relief
agencies, such as the American Eed Cross, the American
Railway Mission, and the American War Trade Board, as
well as regarding the interest taken by Americans at home
in Eussian affairs and the progress of the Russian people
in their struggle for a better order under free institutions
has at the same time kept alive the sense of American friend-
ship and sympathy. Circulation of information regarding
American methods of agriculture and industry and regard-
ing the life of the American farmer and the efforts for bet-
terment of the conditions of life of the worker, regarding the
activities of the American Government in the interest of the
people, and regarding the powers and opportunities which
the people of the United States have for changing and per-
fecting their institutions, have both corrected many false
impressions of America and tended to develop new standards
in Eussian minds for their own national life and system of
Government.

In closing, I wish to express in the name of all the staff
o£.^iberian Department of the Committee on Public Infor-
mation — for I know from their expressions that I can do
so — our appreciation of 3^our personal leadership as Direc-
tor of the Eussian Division, and our sense of privilege in
having had the opportunity to serve with you in this work in
the interest of the Eussian people and of Eussian- American
friendship.

Faithfully,

M. W. Davis,

Manager Siberian Department,

SAMPLE LETTERS.

Opinions of prominent men of Chita, Siberia, concerning

activities of the Committee on Public Information :
1. President of Zemstvo of Trans-Baikalia Province:

The Committee on Public Information has worked here too Uttle.
One might suppose that if it would continue work here the aim of
bringing near peoples of America and Russia by means of permanent
information would have been attained. It is too bad that the com-
mittee ceases work here at the very beginning.
121033—20 17

258 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.

2. President of Exchange :

As to myself, I consider the activities of the Committee on Public
Information most useful as to information about American life and
views. I think that continuation of work by the American Commit-
tee on Public Information would have been very desirable for the
neutralization of local partial views.

3. Mayor:

Sympathies of the Russian people toward America have always
been great ones, and acquaintance by Russians with political and
economic life of America have had a positive influence as to de-
velopment of democratic ideas in Russia. The democratic institutions
and structure of life of the United States always attracted the broad
masses of Russian people. If the American Committee on Public
Information would continue to exist and would enlarge the scope
of its activities, it would be of great importance in bringing near
America and Russia.

Chita, March 1, 1919.

To Mr. Claekij^, Chita, D. S. :

I am glad to fulfill your proposal to write you my sincere opinion
about the publications that you had been so kind as to send me, as
well as to tell you whether they have been of any utility for Russians
at the present crisis. That is rather a difficult task, for it is equiva-
lent to the evaluation of the importance of activities of the American
Press Bureau and its Siberian branches for the population of Siberia.

It seems to met that the United States of America through their
Press Bureau have made the first attempt in the world to speak
immediately with the people and not with the Government and its
agents. I don't know whether it has been their intention, but it has
proved to be so.

Notwithstanding the comparatively close neighborhood of America -
and Siberia, broad circles of Siberian population did not know
America. Even the intelligenzia did not know this country, although
they had studied in schools the denominations of American rivers,
lakes, and cities. More precise representation about the industrial
force of America had only two groups of population — traders and
industrials, and workmen, followers of social democracy, the the-
oretics of which followed very attentively the economic successes of
the trans-Atlantic Republic. But this knowledge was partial. The
representation about American social life, about American schools,
about the life of agricultural population, about ties of American pub-
lic thought, etc., were very fragmental by all shades of Siberian popu-
lation, and frequently even false.

A most insignificant correction brought into this false representa-
tion about America Russian emigrants who returned from America
after the February revolution. Most of them had no general view
on the many-folded and many-sided life of America; they evidently
Jsnew only one corner of America, and a very narrow one.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 259

The first American publications in 1917 and 1918, in general, did
not attain their end, and augmented very little the acquaintance with
America among broad masses of Russian people. They were being
sent mainly to governmental and public institutions, i. e., to a group
of city inhabitants who were very deeply engaged in social-political
affairs and strife and paid very little attention to publications which
they were receiving from time to time.

That is perhaps a generalization which is not quite true, but it was
so in Irkutsk and trans-Baikalian Provinces in 1917 and in the first
half of 1918. The circumstance that the material of the publications
of the American Press Bureau was a very official one, and I would
say dry, attributed to such an attitude toward them.

Toward the end of 1918 circumstances changed fully. On the one
side the importance of America in the economic life of the world
and its decisive and crushing part in the World War became not
merely plain and sensibly clear, but the consciousness of that pene-
trated to the very bottom of illiterate Siberian villages. At the same
time over the Siberian population was pending the threat of a strong
and undesirable political and economic influence on the part of
Japan. This especially alarmed the population, for the Japanese
Government was supporting and helping monarchical and reactionary
elements that appeared on the surface after the overthrow of Soviet
power by Czecho-Slovaks.

All that raised an intensive interest toward America which could
not be sufficed by far by official telegrams and declarations. Just at
that tinie started appearing the Friendly Word, which had put to
itself much broader tasks than previous publications. But the new
journal would not have acquired such a publicity as it enjoyed if the
bureau would not have come near to the population by opening
branches in Siberia, and particularly in Chita.

Through cooperative societies, which number only in the eastern
part of trans-Baikalia reaches 500, the publications of the bureau
were being distributed among the masses of rural population, and
owing to the above-mentioned general interest in America they have
been welcome visitors.

But have they been useful to Russians? If utility will be evaluated
by rubles and copecks, then of course not. But if one means utility,
that knowledge precise representation about near and remote neigh-
bors give us, then, obviously they have been very useful ; from the
chaos of fantastic representations about the land of dollars and
trust companies has emerged the real America.

But except the service that the publications of the bureau have
rendered to Siberia and its population America itself has profited by
them; it has raised its authority and popularity. It is to be said
that especially during the last time, perhaps owing to the wide in-
formation activities of the bureau, the period of indefinite sympathies
or unsympathies toward America on the part of the whole population
has ended, and the position of certain public groups has proved ta
become definite. The turning point, without any doubt, has been the

260 KEPORT COMMITTEE OiT PUBLIC INEOEMATIOISr.

project of the league of nations, the decision of the peace conference
concerning conference on Princes Island, and partly also the Habar-
ovsk incident.

Reactionary monarchical groups headed by various nominal govern-
ments of separate Provinces of Siberia have realized that America is
not intended to back them in all their desires, that it does not thirst
to cover European Russia with blood only with the end to suffice
dark and exasperated masses and political parties of maximalists doc-
trine by the rule ''for one eye two, for a tooth a jaw" as it is being
applied now In Siberia; but they are sincerely striving to establish
perhaps a bad but nevertheless a civil peace, and want to diminish use-
less bloodshed (Habarovsk). These groups are now showing their
wrath toward America that they were hiding before. Counting with
the physical power of America (these gentlemen are always acknowl-
edging only physical force as a dog a stick) they have limited their
actions with a few excesses only.

Trading and industrial circles were for a long time unconditional
partisans of America following their traditional, since 1905, feeling
of enmity toward Japan. During the last time one begins to perceive
also here a hesitation. I will not try to find out the reasons of this
phenomenon, the more so for they are not difficult to understand, I
only will mention the fact that President Wilson, about whom the
representative of these groups, the Kadet Party, was speaking with
respect, has suddenly become ''Mister Wilson,'' arid all his projects
have proved to be "theoretical" ; briefly, the right Siberian press have
made the same turning to the right as the Paris reactionary, papers.

Partisans of the fallen Soviet power who railed before the American
militarism not less than the Anglo-French one practically have begun
• to confess the point of view of America, although officially they have
not changed their position. In cases of crying violences workmen
and peasants were striving to find protection, or at least sympathy,
not at Frenchmen or Italians, but at representatives of America.

These groups represent an insignificant minority of Siberian popula-
tion, while the great majority of Siberian peasants, a considerable
part of workmen, and middle classes of city population — are true
mends of America.

And I think I may say that these sympathies are based upon a
solid material foundation. The Siberian peasant needs agricultural
machines which he may have quickly and comparatively cheap only
from America. If Siberia has to become the arena of activities of
foreign capital it would not be indifferent to the Siberian workmen
and intelligenzia whether this will be Japanese, French, or American
capital. Russian population has enough experience to know that
Japanese capital would come not only with its machines (oftentimes
imported from other countries), administration, but also with their
own workmen and employees, that French capital would do the same
(except importation of workmen), while American business men
would not do that.

REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION. 261

Meantimes on Russian soft-bodied business men close connection
with American spirit of enterprise does not smile.

The Siberian democracy is headed by two organizations — coopera-
tives and Zemstvo and city self-governments. By informing them
the American Press Bureau and its branches were informing the
whole organized population. In Trans-Bailvalia this has been attained
rather completely and even perfectly.

The . publications of the bureau interested but did not satisfy
always. One w^as feeling lack of information about American co-
operatives, municipal and workmen life, about social-political group-
ing. The last numbers of Friendly Word show the tendency to dis-
cuss also these sides of life of America.

In connection with the departure of the branches of the American
Press Bureau among Siberian readers of its publications' arises the
question whether the information activities of the bureau would con-
tinue, and if it would so, in what a form. It is difficult to suppose
that nations after this four years' slaughter just finished would be
satisfied by unorganized, incomplete, and oftentimes pursuing prac-
tical aims, information of newspapers party and sometimes commer-
cial interests of which impede them from being objective. It seems
to me that big weekly newspapers, like the London Times, the Paris
Temps and Matin, the New York Tribune, Herald, and others, the
Philadelphia Public Ledger, etc., are giving little real representation
about the life of their respective country as a lively street of some
large city about domestic life of these people and their public and
scientific interests. On the other side, one has to fear that these
papers would swallow the whole flora of the terrestrial globe, . .
Therefore, I think that such brief reviews of life of the country
which the Friendly Word started to give to Russian readers one
should prefer to huge bunches of newspaper paper overheaped with
bagatelles and information of transitory interest. While closing the
branches of its Committee on Public Information America would, per-
haps, continue issuing yearbooks or monthly papers that might be
published in languages of the whole civilized world.

For immediate collaboration in such publications might be ad-
mitted representatives of all ties of social, economic, and political
life and thought, as by this the authority and wealth of contents
would be augmented.

I think that I am not mistaken when I say that, owing to the ap-
proaching activities of representatives of the American Press Bureau,
democratic America will never again become a strange country of
industrial kings to the population of Siberia, and that Siberian and
American rural population and workmen will establish in the next
future, through their economic organizations, the cooperatives, a close
business and spiritual collaboration.
Yours, truly,

K. Lux,

Secretary of Trans-BaiJcalian Union of Cooperative Societieg,

Table showing literature received at Irkutsk office.

Date
received.

Nov. 25..
Dec. 10..
Dec. 18..
Dec. 26..
Jan. 3...
Jan. 10..
Jan. 17..
Jan. 24..
Jan. 31..
Feb. 6...
Feb. 13..
Feb. 20..
Feb. 28.
Mar. 2 . .
Mar. 10..
Mar. 17..
Mar. 24 . .
Mar. 31..

Total 27,000

W3 <S>'6

ir! d ^

5,000
12,000
10,000

5,000
4,000
4,000

13,000

.Si w 03

20,000
12,000
8,000

40,000

6,000

3,000
3,000

5,000

'9,"666"

20,000

6,000

1,500

7,500

6,000
4,000

10,000

9,000

9,000 9,000

11,000

10,000

7,000

10,000

10,000 i 10,000

10,000

This table was made out on Mar. 5 and the schedule of arrivals of material after that date is simply an estimation made from the plan of shipments sent out from the
central office at Vladivostolc.

to
to

H
O

a
w
tr«

M
O

Tahle showing distribution of literature from Irkutsk

office.

Method of distribution.

Letters
of an
Ameri-
can
Friend.

Bolshe-
vik pam-
phlet.

Ameri-
can Ac-
tions in
Siberia.

Weekly
No. 1.

Weekly
No. 2.

Ameri-
ica and
Peace.

Weekly
No. 3.

Weekly
No. 4.

Weekly
No. 5.

Weekly
No. 6.

Weekly
No. 7.

Weekly
No. 8.

Weekly
No. 9.

Weekly
No. 10.

Typhus
pam-
phlets.

Sent out through post to regular

12,525
21,000
10,475
2,000

7,900
3,100

14,250
8,850

14,900
2,000

5,200
800

5,200
2,800
11,000
1,000

5,200
800

5,200
1,900

5,200
800
. 4,000

8,000
1,000

8,800
2,200

8,800
1,200

Sent out through post to local agents
for distribution

Distributed through newspapers of
Irkutsk

7,000

Distributed through newspapers of

2,000

Total

27,000

13,000

40,000

6,000

20,000

6,000

7,100

10,000

9,000

11,000

10,000

7,000

264 EEPOBT COMMITTEE OIST PUBLIC UTEORMATIOISr.

Addresses contained in nmiling lists (grand totals Ifidl),

Irkutsk Province (total, 5,908 addresses) :

Schools 991

Peasants' unions 1,293

Cooperative unions 758

Government institutions 1, 025

Hospitals 98

Educational societies > 50

Telegraph offices 233

Individuals 1,460

Yakutsk Province (total, 77 addresses) :

Schools 50

Government institutions 27

Yeneseesk Province (1,106 addresses) :

Schools ^1, 000

Government institutions 1D6

Note. — The list of local agents includes about 40 individuals, scat-
tered throughout the Provinces of Irkutsk, Yakutsk, and Yeneseesk,
who have offered their services for the distribution of our literature.
They handle from 10 to 200 copies apiece.

Translation of letter from Irkutsk Province Professional-
Political Peasants' Union Executive Committee.

Irkutsk, December 13, 1918,
Ameeican Committee on Public Information, Irkutsk.

Dear Sirs : I have read with pleasure the pamphlets which you
have sent me, namely : Letters of an American Friend, American
Actions in Siberia, The Friendly Word,^ and others.

I think that these pamphlets will meet among the intelligent
readers of our villages with due understanding and friendly sym-
pathy. The sobriety of opinions and the definite decisiveness of
their tones are the good features of the articles. One feels the voice
of democracy sound in these articles — democracy which is conscious
of its national interests and aspirations, which is conscious of its
power and real possibilities. The statements of friendly feelings of
the American democracy toward the Russian workaday people wiU
produce a favorable impression on our readers, especially if such
statements are followed up by friendly acts. We already see these
friendly acts in the behavior of the American troops on Russian
soil, in the practical measures of giving economical aid to Rus-
sia, and we would be glad to see the same friendly attitude in the
question which is most vital for the Russian people, the question
whether or not the Russian people will take part in the conclusion of
the international peace treaty.

We think that the American democracy, whose voice is practicaUy
decisive among the powers that have taken part in the great con-
flict, will give a possibility to the Russian democracy to state its
national aspirations at the conference where the peace terms will be
worked out and also to attain a maximum of its national interests.

BEPOKT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC IHFORMATIOK. 265

We are aware that the nature of our participation will depend en-
tirely upon ourselves. Our international situation will correspond
to the state of our internal affairs. With a collapse going on in the
Interior we can not count on an honorable standing on the inter-
national "front."

Nevertheless, we not only believe, we feel sure that Russia will
exist as an independent country.- *' The darker the night, the brighter
the stars." He who knows Russian history knows what the Russian
people is capable of. We have survived the domination of the Tar-
tars; we have successfully emerged from the great collapse at the
beginning of the seventeenth century, and w^e gave the whole world
an example of a great national war in the beginning of the nine-
teenth century. We will also overcome the political, social, and eco-
nomical collapse of to-day.

The regeneration of our country is already commencing. It is com-
ing from beneath the surface, from the villages. Let the political
leanings and currents of the parties on the surface change as they
will; let the fierce political struggle, which is as bitter as it is aim-
less, continue in its usual way ; let the " temporary Government's com-
binations '* be created or destroyed for some one or another occa-
sional reason; these actions are not those of the real people of the
country. Their hour has not yet struck. They do not yet feel them-
selves strong enough or well enough organized to express their power
and feelings in national government affairs. It is, however, from
them, from the God-forsaken villages that the real Russian Govern-
ment and the real Russian strength is being formed. Notwithstand-
ing its being aback of civilization, notwithstanding its lack of
experts in the various branches of social and economical life,
the villages are making their efforts to organize their producing
and consuming forces, their own local governments, their own educa-
tional systems, and all on the basis of true democracy.

Reports are coming in daily from the villages and we are weU
acquainted with the heart, the thought, and the purpose of the people.
It is our task now to give our support and assistance to the organi-
zation of the foundations of our future Government, to strengthen the
consumers, producers, an^ credit cooperative unions of the masses,
to maintain the power of the zemstvos, in order that at a certain time
of the future the great workaday masses may be united on the basis
of creating a single stable State out of the now disconnected parts
of our country. This, as we see it, is the way to the rebirth of our
country.

We think that the American democracy which is friendly toward
us will help us to lay the foundations of the future Russian State
and will help us in building up here a new life. This faith has been
brought to us by the friendly announcements of the American democ-
racy and the friendly acts of the American Government.

E. Smiknov,
Secretary of the Executive Committee

of the Peasants' Union of Irkutsk.

266 BEPOBT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFOEMATIOK.

Translation of a letter published in the Nashe Derevnya,
Irkutsk, February 25, 1919 :

Village Bratskoie, District Nijneudinsk.
Editor Nashe Derevnya, Irkutsk.

Dp:ar Sir : The population of the Bratskaya and Bolshemamurskaya
Counties are reading with great interest the American Publicity Bu-
reau literature which is being sent to them by the Irkutsk 'Govern-
ment Peasants' Union. They are interested in this literature for two
reasons, first because the desire is constantly growing among them
for a knowledge of what is going on in the outside world and second,
and chiefly, because they are longing for a new and democratic order
of things. The order of American life finds great approval among the
majority of our population ; the Siberian wants to live as the Ameri-
can does.

Generally, a great need of literature of rural, domestic, and co-
operative character is felt. And although the peasants' cooperative
paper Nashe Derevnya gives us such answer to these needs as it can,
it is far from what we, the peasant breadmakers, want to receive and
what we require of the press.

Give us more literature, you who are acquainted with our interests
and who appreciate our start toward the light. Send to the villages
more books and pamphlets which are written according to the needs
of the peasant population.
Respectfully, yours, *

A. KOKORIN.

Analym of diatribution of committee material from iJhaterinhurg office, t)ec. 5, 1918, to Peh, H, 19i9.

To whom sent.

League
of

Nations
poster.

Letters
of an

Ameri-
can

Friend.

German
Attempt
to Con-
trol
Russia.

America
and
Peace.

Ameri-
can
Activity

in
Russia.

The
Friendly

Word
(weekly).

Comment.

To Y. M. C. A. Czech clubs and hospital reading
rooms.

Distributed personally from Pec, 4 to 14 to various

organizations.
Silin's Bookstore, to be given customers in and out

of town.

Blokhinvi's Bookstore

Sent to Perm for distribution

600
2,000

4,000

United committee for sending presents to the Army.
Cooperative Bookstores in Ekaterinburg

Sent out with cooperative weekly Urals kaya
Khozaister.

Library, Belinski

To all stations on the Perm R. R., sent through

West Ural R. R. News.
To individual out of town organizations, clubs,

schools^ unions, etc.
Mailinglist

600

4,000

500
500
300
300
1,500

6,000
500

1,000

800
200
300

500

500
300
200
300
500

1,500

500
500

500
500
500
200
1,000

500
I 1,000

200
800
300

400
300

500
300

1,125

2 500
8 1,500

300
250

Thrown over Bolshevik lines by aeroplane.

Russian Soldiers' Club, Ekaterinburg

Railway workers

Zehiskaya Uprava

Mayor teachers' union

Tuirnen, Pr. Lewis, of American Hospital.

5,000
400

6,000
I 550

500

}•

< 800

300
50
150
500

r 5ent in 2 installments; second sent only after first

[ was exhausted.

Po.

» After third number reduced to 500, as there was
no check on distribution.

2 Reduced 250 after No. 4, when cooi)€ratives sent
a full mailinglist.

100 of No. 5 were sent, and from then on 1,500.
Second installment sent at their requc&t.

Each package sent with an individual covering

letter. •

Consisting exclusively of answers to individual
requests.

Delivered to Gen. Papelaefs, chief of staff, in Perm.
fLiierature sent at request of Russian secretary.
\ Club has attendance of 3,000 a day.

♦ At first we sont 200, but increased number at re-
quest of divisional superintendent.

To be sent to 177 Zemski libraries in smaller towns.
\ Teachers' union increased from 50 to 150 at their
/ request.

A poition of this was distributed en route by the
Czech post.

Analysis of distribution of committee material from Ekateringhurg office^ Bee, 5, 1918, to Feb. 12, 1919 — Continued.

To whom sent.

Leape

Nations
poster.

Letters
of an_

Ameri-
can

Friend.

German
Attempt
to Con-
trol
Bussia.

America

and
Peace.

Ameri-
can
Activity
in

Russia.

The
Friendly

Word
(weekly).

Comment.

2,000

3,000
1,500
7 25,375

Nos. 4 and 5 of Friendly Word came to Ekaterin-
burg but were sent back to Cheliabinsk again.

5 Mostlysenttofactory centers from whichrequests
for the Friendly Word were received.

6 1 left shortly after this shipment arrived. ' See
my report.

8 Approximate. ^ This figure varied considerably.

Sundry distribution from office, largely through
mails 9nd to people living out of town.

3,885

6 8, 475

3,400

6 1, 430

8 10,000

26,500

21,500

6,250

34,000

9 7,500

REPORT COMMITTEE OK^ PUBLIO mFORMATIOlST. 269

Committee articles printed in the Ekaterinburg papers between
Dec, 12 and Feb. 11, 1919.

Uralskaya Jizni:

Economic Help in Russia.*

Land Reform in California.

How War has Effected Schools in America.

Night Schools in America.

How Wilson Brought Industrial Peace.

Wilson's Explanation of His Third Peace Point*

Agricultural Finance in America.*

History of Tanks.

Prohibition of Child Labor in America.
Mrs. Wilson to Allied Women.
Public Education in America.
The- Steel Mule.
Otetchesvennia Viedomosti :

Work of American Red Cross.^

How the American Army is Chosen.*

Work of Prof. Russell.

Quotation, first editorial in Friendly Word.

Activity of Y. M. C. A.*

Note on Dr. E. J. Dillion.'

Wilson's Explanation of His Third Peace Point

Si.anilicance of recent Congressional Elections in America.*
Gorni Krai :

American Policy in Siberia.^

How the American Army is Chosen.*

Living Conditions of American Workmen.

Eight Hour Day in America.

Growtli of League of Nations Idea.*
Ural Economy:

Life of the American Farmer.*

Financial Facilities of the American Farmer.*

Education of the American Farmer.*
A complete analysis of all material in the Ekaterinburg papers
touching America will be found in my report letters in my office files.

Wm. Adams Beown, jr.

Articles sent to Svohodnaya Perm,

Various News.

Freedom of Religious Worship.
Newspapers in America.
Wholesale Ship Building.
Telephone System.
Y. M. C. A. Pamphlet.
Farmers Non-Partizan League.

1 Articles written or prepared by Wm. Adams Brown, jr.

270 BEPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFOBMATIOK*

Organizing Three Million Farmers.
Why Farmers Supported the War.
Land for Returned Soldiers.
Industrial Peace.
Justice to Workers.

Influence of War on American Education.
Democratic Education.
United States and Poland.
Polish Heroes.

Use of American Fleet after the War.

Articles sent to papers in other cities than Ekaterinherg,

Sent January 20 :

Tieumen, Svobodnoe Slovo —

American Activity in Siberia.

Special Government Loans to Farmers.

Tractors in Agriculture in America.

Difficult Position of American Socialists.
Tobolsk, Tobolsk Peoples Word —

American Activity in Siberia.

Schools of America are Clubs for the People.

Why Farmers Supported the War.

Learning Agriculture on these Farms.
Petropavlosk, Edinstvo —

American Activity in Siberia.

Article of Walsh on Democratic Pi'inciples in Industry,
Land Allotments for Returning American Soldiers.
Rotation of Crops.
Irbit, Irbutski Viestnik —

American Activity in Siberia.

Article of W^alsh on Democratic Principles in Industry.

Tractors in Agriculture in America.

Public Opinion in Americia.
To be sent two weeks later :

Tieumen, Svobodnoe Slovo —

A Country League of Nations.

Rotation of Crops.

Land Lots for Returning Soldiers.

Y. M. C. A. Soldiers.
Tobolsk, Tobolskoe Norodnoe Slovo —

Article of Walsh on Democratic Principles in Industry.

Rotation of Crops.

Various News.

Y. M. C. A. Pamphlet.
Petropavlosk, Edinstvo —

United States and Labor.

Effort Toward Democratic Education in the United States^
Why the Farmers Supported the War.
Y. M. 0. A. Pamphlet.

REPOBT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOlir. 271

Articles sent to out-of-totcn papers,

Irbit, Irbitski Viestnik:

Insurance of Soldiers' Health:
Steel Mule.

School Rooms Help in Industrial Democracy.
Special Government Loans to Farmers,
Y. M. C. A. Pamphlet.

-rArticles given to , of the Russian Information Bureau, to take

to Omsk for the newspaper Russian Army J*

What the American Soldier Reads.
Kinematograph Accompanies the Soldier.
Armament for the American Soldier.
Trying out Airmen in America.
Soldiers in Camp Read.
Taft on Training Camps.

One Hundred and Fifty Students under Arms.

Further, asked him to ask Winters for the draft system article.

Letter from Mrs. lanchevetski reporting on the work done
for the committee in Cheliabinsk :

Cheliabinsk, February 12.

Dear Mr. Browns : I beg to advise you that up to the present time
we have not received Nos. 4 and 5 of the journal Friendly Word.

The other journals and brochures sent by you were received in the
following amounts:

Copies.

(1) Friendly Word, No. 1 2,500

(2) Friendly Word, No. 2 3,000

(3) Friendly Word, No. 3 1,500

(4) American Activity in Siberia 3,000

(5) German Attempt to Control Russia 2,500

(6) 14 Peace Points of President Wilson 1, 500

(7) Young Men's Christian Association 1, 500

(8) Posters of the League of Nations; Speech of

President Wilson, Sept. 27, 1918 8, 000

(9) Letters of an American Friend 2,500

(10) America and Peace 1,750

(11) German peace offer posters 1,000

The literature received is distributed in Cheliabinsk and the sur-
rounding district among teachers, priests, schools, high schools, co-
operative societies, hospitals, military hospital stations, newspaper
offices, libraries, reading rooms, army staffs, and private individuals.

A part of the literature received is sent to Zalotoust to the Zem-
skaya Uprava for similar distribution among the population of Zala-
toust and the surrounding district.

272 REPORT COMMITTEE ON" PUBLIC INFORMATIOK.

In Cheliabinsk an office has been organized where all who wish to
may receive daily the free literature of the committee. This office la
open from 9 to 12 and from 3 to 6 daily. For the work of this office
there has been engaged a secretary, Mr. Sokolof, a journalist, well
acquainted with publicity work.

The literature of the committee interests every one very much.
There are received daily new requests for sending literature and exr
pressions of gratitude for the sympathetic aititude of America toward
Russia.

For the expenses of the office and mailing I gave Mr. Sokolof 550""
rubles, for which he will account. He will also account for the dis-
tribution of the literature. A full account of the expenses incurred
by Mr, lanchevetski we can give only in Omsk, where he is now. In
the absence of Mr. lanchevetski, the office ivill be in charge of Mr.
Sokolof.

Yours, truly,

M. Ianche\^tski.

Letter from M. E. Dementief , Tiumen : ♦

January 24 1919.
Dear Sir : With sincere thanks I confirm the receipt of the journal
the Friendly Word, Xos. 1 and 2, several copies, and several pamphlets
which I will try to distribute among the population. Many replies
w^ere recefved to the proposition made in your circular with regard
to the receiving of the journal by individuals here, and there will be
many more, so that it will hardly be possible to satisfy all who desire
the journal, and as it will hardly be convenient to trouble you with
sending the journal to many individual addresses, wouldn't it perhaps
be better to do as follows: Send a larger number of copies to my
address, and then I, as director of the Tiumen Public Bank, member
of the Householders' Committee, president of the Association of the
Clergy, and acquainted with many different classes of the population,
can distribute them, thus relieving you of the inconvenience of send-
ing to a large number of addresses every week. At present you may
send 50 or more copies weekly.
Yours, etc.,

M. E. Demetief.

Letter from the Teachers' Union of the Ural :

January 17, 1919.

Dear Sib : On the 14th of the present month I had the pleasure of
receiving 50 copies of the journal Friendly Word, kindly sent by you.

Expressing my thanks for the consideration shown our organization
by you, I am glad to testify to the real interest on the part of the
members of the union in your serious and interesting journal. The
number of members of our union is more than 150 in Ekaterinberg,
and I was able to give your journal to only a part of them.
Very sincerely, yours,

E. Stobogi,
Chairman Union Teachers.

BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC mmUMATlO:^. 273

Letter from the Ekaterinberg Educational-Economic As-
sociation (Kulturno-Ekonomiclieski Soiuz) :

January 18, 1919.

Deae Sir: The Executive Committee of the Educational-Economic
Association of Ekaterinberg expresses its deep gratitude for Nos. 1
and 2 of the Friendly Word that were sent to it.

The committee fully shares the thought that a friendly union of
peoples is possible only when there is the fullest and most many-sided
mutual acquaintance with the conditions of life and the ideals of the
peoples.

The committee takes advantage of the opportunity to say that in
this connection the Friendly Word fully accomplishes its end. There-
fore the committee is taking every measure toward the distribution
of the journal among its members and asks you, if possible, to in-
crease the number of copies sent.
Yours, etc.,

D. , Vice Chairman.

Letter from the divisional traffic superintendent of the
Perm Railroad (receiving 200 copies) :

January 10, 1919.
Dear Sir: By the present I inform you that the copies of the
Friendly Word sent us are being given out by hand to the employees
and the workmen, and have won the sympathy of the readers, and I
^therefore respectfully ask the bureau to send 800 copies every week.
Yours, etc.,

, Superintendent.

Work in Eussia — Archangel.

[Report by Read Lewis.]

Archangel, December 26^ 1918,

Edgar Sisson,

General Director.^ Foreign Se<^tion^

Committee on Public Information^ Washington.

I have established on the basis of half support the Ameri-
can Sentinel, published at Archangel for the American
troops in northern Eussia. The paper was started and is
edited and published by Capt. Eoger Lewis, of the Ameri-
can Eed Cross, formerly Associated Press representative in
Petrograd, and myself. Its cost, which amounts to the equiv-
alent of about $150 a week, is borne jointly by the Eed Cross
and the Committee on Public Information.

I found on my arrival here a very real need of some med-
ium which would furnish the American forces with regular

121033—20 18

274 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC mPORMATIOIS".

neAvs. Everyone in Archangel feels pretty much cut off
from the rest of the world, and the troops at the front had
no way of getting even such news as was available in Arch-
angel. To keep the men in regular contact with the out-
side world and the important events taking place there, as
well as with home news, seemed essential if their spirit and
morale were to be maintained through the isolation and
rigors of the long, dark winter months. The difficulties of
getting together enough English type to print any kind
of a paper and of finding typesetters were in a manner
overcome and the paper w^as started. Shortage of paper
makes it possible to print only about 2,500 to 3,000 copies a
week. These are distributed to all American units and all
English units. The paper thus serves in a small way as a
channel of American propaganda with the English, and will,
I trust, be one means of creating better feeling between the.
English and American forces in north Eussia.

The Sentinel is carried on quite independently of my
regular Eussian work, to which my chief energies are de-
voted.

EespectfuUy, yours,

Eead Lewis.

The Work in China.

The very remarkable success of the committee's work in
China was due to the inspiring cooperation of Dr. Paul
Eeinsch, the American Minister, the brilliant and devoted
services of Mr. Carl Crow, the Coiiipub representative, and
the effective and unstinted assistance of patriotic American
residents in China. While not completely descriptive of the
work or achievements, there is pride and interest in the fol-
lowing memorial to the President of the United States
unanimously adopted by the American Chamber of Com-
merce of Shanghai, China, indorsing the work of the Com-
mittee on Public Information :

Until the outbreak of the war the only American and European
news received in China was sent out by Reuters and by the German
agency, Ostasiatische Lloyd. The latter agency, which was discon-
tinued on China's entrance into the war, made no pretense of being
other than a German agency devoted solely to German news. While
Reuters is the most international of existing news agencies, it is

EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATIOH. 275

edited in London primarily for the British colonies and paid little
attention to American affairs. The American news published by
Reuters consisted very largely of reports of crimes and corruption and
American policies were seldom referred to except when British inter-
ests were affected. ( Some specific examples of this are given in
Appendix A.)

Through the connection between Reuters and the Kokusal (the
official Japanese news agency) the Japanese are able to present their

views in China, as news sent from Tokyo is distributed by Reuters.
This means that when there is a controversial issue between Japan
and America, Japanese views are given the widest publicity in China,
while American opinions are learned here only after they have been
edited in London. In the past when there has been an issue between
Japan and America only the Japanese side has been fully presented
in China. This arrangement between the Kokusai and . Reuters is
similar to the arrangement between the Associated Press and Reuters
with this important difference — that Japanese news is sent direct to
China while American news sent by the Associated Press must come
through London.

In addition to this arrangement with Reuters the Japanese have
organized a semiofficial news agency which supplies Far Eastern
news to Chinese publications. Japanese consuls act as correspondents
for this agency, the dispatches being sent in code.

From time to time prominent Americans who visited the Far East
have noted this condition and have thought to remedy it by organizing
an American news service. But very high cable tolls across the
Pacific and the small number of publications in China able to sub-
scribe to a news service always made such an organization impos-
sible. As a commercial proposition an American news agency in the
Far East could not be made profitable for many years. Reuters with
its long established connections is able to operate here only because
of the support it receives from organized British commercial interests
and the British Government.

This situation has been partly remedied by the Committee on Pub-
lic Information which, at the beginning of the w^ar, arranged for the
interception in Shanghai of a daily news report sent by wireless from
San Diego and later from San Francisco. This service has helped to
keep Americans in China in touch with the w^ar activities of their
homeland and has informed the Chinese of the part America has taken
in the war. Had it not been for this report, Chinese would never
have learned of the very important part America has played in the
war, for Reuters report has been devoted very largely to telling. of
British victories and has steadily minimized the part played by the
Americans and French. (See Appendix B.)

During the last fe\y months of the war the Committee on Public
Information was very active in China and during that time conducted
most effective war propaganda and has also perfected plans which if
carried out will serve to make American influence in China stronger

276 REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC I^TFORMATIO^^.

than it has ever been before. We will mention a few of the activities
of the committee :

(1) An American news agency has been organized to take over the
work of translating American news and distributing it to the Chinese
papers. This news agency is now supplying the news to more than three
hundred Chinese newspapers, some of whom are paying for the serv-
ice. American news now predominates in the Chinese papers, and
this American agency, though only a few months old, is now supplying
the bulk of the foreign news and comment published in the Chinese
press.

As this agency develops it will be able to (a) develop into a news
distributing agency which is partly if not wholly self-supporting, (&)
supply American officials and firms with translations of comment
from the Chinese papers, (c) disseminate commercial and other news
which will be of benefit to America's interest and of special help to
Americans doing business in China, (d) help the Chinese newspapers
to develop and expand their influence, thereby creating vehicles for
the expression of public opinion and bringing China in line with
the political development of the rest of the world. It is the first
agency of its sort to be organized in China and has started with the
hearty support of the Chinese publishers.

It may be pointed out that the Chinese newspaper publishing in-
dustry is still in its infancy, but is the most rapidly growing business
in China. While 10 years ago there were less than a dozen there are
now more than 400 dailies published in the Chinese language.

(2) The publication of the war addresses of President Wilson,
in both Chinese and English, has been arranged with Chinese pub-
lishers. These are to be used as textbooks in the Chinese schools.

(3) More than 400 volunteer agents located in every province of
China have been secured. These agents undertake the work of dis-
tributing literature and of reporting on Chinese opinion. They are
all Americans, either American missionaries or employees of American
firms. Although only recently organized they form an effective and
efficient force and are able in the shortest possible time to distribute
throughout China any literature it is thought desirable to send
out. It is the most efficient organization of its kind . in the Far
East. No other country has now and none can form an organization
of this kind, for no other country is so ably represented in the interior
of China. (See Appendix C.)

(4) A mailing list which will comprise the names of prominent
Chinese in every locality in China is now being compiled. This list
when complete will contain the names of 50,000 of the most important
citizens of the Chinese Republic. If kept up to date it will enable
the American Government to speak directly to the Chinese people.

(5) The representative of the Film Division of the Committee on
Public Information has just arrived in China. The work this division
of the committee can do will be very valuable, and doubtless it can
be carried on without expense to the Government, for the rental of the
films will cover the cost of operation.

EEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 277

(6) The representative of the committee has in mind many other
plans for advancing American interests and influence in China.
Among them we may mention the promotion of the publication of
trade magazines, the translation and publication of American books,
the preparation of suitable textbooks for the Chinese schools, the
collection of crop reports, the distribution of American seed to
Chinese farmers, the distribution of American school and college
catalogues, etc. Many of these activities will be carried out without
expense to the United States Government and only need the atten-
tion of the committee representatives.

In conclusion, the American Chamber of Commerce, representing
more than 100 American business firms and individuals doing busi-
ness in China, most heartily indorses the work the Committee on
Public Information is doing in China, and expresses the earnest hope
that it will continue its work here and will be supplied with funds
sufficient to carry out its program. Unless this is done, America's
influence in China may not be felt to the extent that America deserves
because her voice will not be heard.

APPENDIX A.
REUTEKS AND AMERICAN NEWS.

The following excerpts were selected at random from Reuters re-
port of July and August, 1912. They give a fair idea of the character
of American news Reuters has always circulated. Reuters has always
emphasized American crime, political graft, and commercial hyp('C-
risy. Until the Committee on Public Information began work in
China this was the only news about America received in China
and it was from this news alone that the Chinese formed their opin-
ions of current American affairs. The excerpts referred to above
follow :

New York, July 26. — ^There is rioting in the Paint Creek mining
district of West Virginia. The miners have cut off telephones and
telegraphs and in the absence of the news the papers are publishing
the wildest report of fighting with bombs, machine guns, and rifles.
The most creditable is that two private detectives were killed.

New York, July 28. — Communications with Paint Creek the coal
mining district of West Virginia, has been restored. One miner was
killed in the riots. Many shots were fired, but nobody else was
injured.

New York, July 30. — There was a sensational climax to the Rosen-
thal case yesterday evening when the grand jury indicted Police
Lieutenant Becker on a charge of murder. Becker was arrested at
the police station and brought to the Criminal Court where he was
arraigned. He was remanded, bail being refused. The indictment
of Becker followed the evidence of three gamblers who have been
detained for some time charged with complicity in the killing.

278 BEPORT COMMITTEE OliT PUBLIC INFOEMATIOlsr.

New York, July 31. — man who has been arrested in the RoseiL-
thal murder case has sworn to an affidavit that three police officials
and a city official divided graft to the amount of gold $2,500,000 dur-
ing the past year from gambling and other illegal resorts.

New York, August 12. — ^A negro and six Italians were electrocuted
at Sing Sing Prison yesterday, the largest number for one day
hitherto.

New York, August 12. — The provisions of the Panama Canal bill
excluding ships owned by the American railroads from the use of the
canal is arousing the fiercest opposition in railroad circles, which
declare that the provision has established a monopoly of the coastwise
trade.

The American press has combined to attack the bill in the warmest

language as an act of incredible folly and wanton selfishness.

New York, August 15. — In connection with the police graft investi-
gation, District Attorney Whitman has unearthed bank accounts show-
ing that high officials have accumulated as much as a million dollars.
Lieutenant Becker, whose salary is $2,000 a year, has deposited
$68,845 since November.

New York, August 22. — A thousand pounds sterling reward has been
anonymously placed at the disposal of the district attorney for the
arrest of Lefty Louis and Gyp-the-Blood who are wanted, and for a
complete round-up of persons suspected of complicity in the murder
of the gambler Rosenthal. The police are not eligible for the rev/ard.
The district attorney is receiving written threats of death.

Washington, August 22. — There are indications of a hot political
campaign owing to allegations made in the Senate by Senator Boies
Penrose of Pennsylvania that the trusts contributed large sums to
Mr. Roosevelt's political campaign in 1904. Mr. Roosevelt has pub-
lished letters showing that he had forbidden the acceptance of such
contributions.

New York, August 25. — Julia Curran, an Irish governess, who was
found dead in a low-class hotel here, is believed to have been mur-
dered by a man who lured her there. The police describe the death
as due to natural causes. The coroner's surgeon suggested that the
police were trying to hush up the crime in order to save the reputa-
tion of a graft protected house.

London, August 26. — The papers emphatically decline to accept
President Taft's argument anent the canal bill, which they regard
as a mere legal quibble and worthier of a pettifogging attorney than
the President of a great Republic.

APPENDIX B.

Reuters reports since the war began have been widely published
around Canton, the Chinese papers copying them from the British
papers of Hongkong. In view of this fact the following excerpt from
a report by an American official in Canton is significant :

REPOBT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION. 279

"I think it will interest you to hear that I have been told by a
well-educated Chinese friend that he has not seen any news in the
local press of the arrival of the American troops in France, and that
the Germans here have been spreading reports that the Americans
have no heart in fighting against them."

APPENDIX 0.

The volunteer agents of the committee recently distributed 50,000
posters, copy of which is attached. These posters were placed on
city gates, at the entrances to Yamens and in other prominent places.
In many cities they enlisted the help of local officials, who lent the
services of the police. A large number of these agents have reported
to the Committee on Public Information as to the reception accorded
the posters.

These agents are in frequent communication with the Shanghai
office of the Committee on Public Information and it is believed that
they supply more complete and accurate reports on Chinese opinion
than can be secured from any other agency.

Counting the selling stations of the Standard Oil, Singer Sewing
Machine Co., and British- American Tobacco Co., together with chapels,
reading rooms, and mission schools, the committee now has at its
disposal more than 2,000 places for the display of pictures and
posters. These cover every important point in China.

Work in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.
(By H. H. Sevier, Commissioner.)

On June 19, 1918, your commissioner assumed the direction
of the activities of your committee in Argentina, Uruguay,
and Paraguay, taking over the headquarters offices which
had been opened by your representative, Lieut. F. E. Acker-
man, U. S. jST. R. The inauguration of an educational cam-
paign along the lines decided upon by your chairman and the
then director of j^our Foreign Educational Division imme-
diately followed.

The preliminary organization effected by Lieut. Acker-
man was perfected and arrangements for the carrying out
of the work on a broad and comprehensive scale were made.
Most attention, at the outset, was devoted to the mobilization
of the press of the three republics and the establishment of
such relations with each individual newspaper as would in-
sure the widest publicity for informative reports of Amer-
ica's effort in the great war, our war aims and peace pur-
poses, the magnitude of our preparations, and the determina'

280 EEPOET COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC IKFOEMATIOIT.

tion of the American people to engage their entire -resources,
if necessary, to bring about complete victory for the cause
to which they had committed themselves.

Your commissioner was at once convinced that the most
effective means of securing the at|ention and respect and
sympathy of the most of the peoples of our sister republics
was to tell them our story, day after day, as forcefully as
possible, through the medium of their newspapers. The
percentage of literacy in Argentina and Uruguay, particu-
larly, is remarkably high, and every newspaper of any im-
portance at all in those countries has a considerable- follow-
ing. The good will and cooperation of the leading journals
was secured at the beginning, and within a reasonable length
of time 90 per cent of the publications, of all classes in the
countries named, were receiving and using our service. The
newspapers of the cities and towns carried daily a specially
prepared cable service covering official announcements from
Washington, the development of our war preparations, and
the extent of our participation in the acutal fighting; the
progress of our shipbuilding, munitions manufacture, and
the financial, moral, and other aid extended to our Allies.
These news stories were frequently played up with illustra-
tions of our air and sea craft, our camps, cantonments and
trenches, our factories, and our guns ; and with photographs
of our statesmen, soldiers, and citizen workers in every
branch of war activity.

Weekly and class publications were regularly supplied
with special articles and illustrations, carefully prepared to
meet their particular requirements and style. The tri-
weekly, semiweekly, and weekly press of the Provinces was
furnished Avith condensed news stories assembled from the
more important developments of the period between publica-
tion.

It should be mentioned that all news stories and special
articles were translated by experts in our offices, and always
in the language of the publication receiving our service.
During the periods of important military operations and
through the exciting times preceding the armistice a day
and night service was maintained, with our offices in con-
stant touch with the great newspapers of the three countries.
In submitting our matter we invariably stipulated that it

BEPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC IKFORMATIOIS'. 281

was offered for reproduction either in total or in part, at the
discretion of the editor, and that no credit to the committee
was necessary. In many instances, however, our credit line
was carried, and in no instance, to our knowledge, was our
matter garbled or falsely construed.

The value and importance of such a service may be more
fully appreciated if it is understood that before the advent
of your committee the amount of news of any character con-
cerning the United States carried by South American pub-
lications was practically negligible. The European news
agencies occupied the field without opposition of conse-
quence. The French and English associations naturally de-
voted their services to the interests of their own countries.
The affairs of the United States, even our war activities,
were treated lightly. Under subsidies of the German Gov-
ernment and German capitalists three daily newspapers were
published in Buenos Aires. One, written in the Spanish
language, was a positive force, because of the skill with which
it distorted the facts and the cleverness of its editorial mis-
representation of the cause of the Allies. The other two,
printed in German, gave aid and comfort to the Teutonic
element.

Fortunately, there are now two American news associa-
tions — the Associated Press and the United Press — operating
successfully in South America with a rapidly increasing
clientele. They are furnishing an excellent and comprehen-
sive service and will undoubtedly prove indispensable in
carrying on the campaign for the permanent establishment
of mutual knowledge, understanding, and friendship which
your committee conceived and placed in operation.

An important feature of the work of your Buenos Aires
office was the preparation, printing, and distribution of pam-
phlets, posters, circulars, etc. A list of all American busi-
ness concerns was secured. A card index indicated how
much matter each could effectively distribute. The packing
houses, banks, shippers, merchants, and selling agencies
cheerfully agreed to inclose our literature in their daily cor-
respondence. Many patriotic institutions and individuals
took from us copies of the speeches of President Wilson and
other leaders by the thousands, forwarding them to their rep-
resentatives and customers in all sections of the country.

282 REPOBT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC IITFORMATIOK.

The ever increasing demand from these sources indicated the
interest with which America's message was being received.

The photographs sent from Washington were captioned
and catalogued on their arrival. They were used in profu-
sion in newspapers and magazines both with and without
explanatory articles. In addition, and perhaps most effec-
tive, were the exhibitions of the pictures in public places.
For such displays some 100 or more light, attractive frames
were designed, each frame carrying 12 photographs. These
were placed in the show windows of the largest business
houses, the lobbies of the leading hotels, and the reading
rooms of various social, commercial, and workingmen's clubs.
In every city or town of any importance one or more of these
frames was conspicuously located. By a carefully worked-
out system we were able to change these displays once a week.

In the offices of the committee files of such American news-
papers, magazines, trade journals, etc., as were sent us or
could be purchased, were kept. These, together with our
Government reports, the Official Bulletin, authoritative arti-
cles on banking, industrial, manufacturing, agricultural, and
other subjects by American experts were at the disposition
of the general public. From them data was obtained by
educators, journalists, and students. We wrote articles on
given subjects and assembled facts and figures for addresses
delivered to various organizations and societies. Editors of
Argentina, Spanish, French, Italian, and British publica-
tions were constantly supplied with material which was de-
sired in order to answer statements of enemy writers.

Personal association with leaders of Sovith American
thought, was not overlooked or neglected. Your commis-
sioner was frequently extended the privilege of addressing
the universities and schools in response to requests from the
student bodies for information concerning " North America."
A sincere desire on the part of many students to attend uni-
versities in the United States, in order that they might per-
fect themselves in the English or " North American " lan-
guage and study our life, our laws, and our business methods,
was developed, and at the suggestion and with the assistance
of Dr. Ernesto Nelson, of Buenos Aires, and Dr. Galves, of
the University of Chili, a plan for an exchange of North
American for South American students was worked out and

REPOKT COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFORMATIOIT. 283

^bout to be placed in operation when the activities of the
•committee were suspended.

The moving-picture feature of the committee's work did
not develop until the arrival of Mr. Ernest L. Starr, who
arrived in October. No films of any consequence had been
received from the Division of Films up to that time. Mr,
Starr was assigned to both Argentina and Chili by your
commissioner, and later to Uruguay. It should be stated
that Mr. Starr achieved remarkable success with his exhibi-
tions, conducting the film campaign with energy and ability.
In view of the early closing of the committee's activities it
was agreed that Mr. Starr would report direct to the com-
mittee, covering all phases of film propaganda.

Your commissioner is under obligations to Mr. Frederico
Crocker, of Montevideo, who acted as local representative in
Paraguay; to William Dawson, Esq., American consul at
Montevideo, and to the American colony of Uruguay in
general. The assistance of Hon. Daniel Mooney, American
minister, and the American residents of Asuncion, was of
much value in our efforts in Paraguay.

The committee's activities in Chili are covered by the
reports of Mr. A. A. Preciado up to October, 1918. Mr.
Presiado served as the committee's representative until that
time, when the writer assumed charge of the Santiago office
under instructions from Washington. The armistice shortly -
followed Mr. Preciado's retirement, and the activities from
then until the close were mostly in the handling of the
important news incident to that event.

Work in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.
(By O. N. Gbiffis, Commissioner.)

In this final report of the activities of the Lima office of
the United States Committee on Public Information, cover-
ing the territory of Peru, Ecuador, an J Bolivia, it is neces-
sary to note that the territory to be covered was widely scat-
tered; that journalism in these countries is still extremely
provincial, and that communication and transport are slow
and uncertain.

284 EEPORT COMMITTEE 01>r PUBLIC USTFORMATIOK.

This handicap was offset somewhat by the fact that the
writer of this report, who was placed in charge of the Lima
office, had been a resident in Lima for the previous five or six
years and for that period of time had been handling a pub-
licity organization, in the form of an Anglo-American news-
paper, The West Coast Leader. It was possible to place the
services of the Leader organization — its agents, correspond-
ents, and friends — entirely at the disposition of the com-
mittee and obtain for the committee's publicity material a
comprehensive circulation in territory which would other-
wise have been difficult and expensive to cover. Thus in
addition to telegraph and mail service reaching the im-
portant centers, such as Lima and Arequipa in Peru, La Paz,
and Oruro in Bolivia, and Guayaquil and Quito in Ecuador,
the pamphlet and pictorial publications were sent broadcast
through the more remote provinces of the three republics —
to the isolated mining camps, the scattered estates — ^to points
as widely separated and as difficult to reach as Santa Cruz
de la Sierra and Trinidad in Bolivia, Moyabamba and the
Chanchamayo Valley in Peru, Esmeraldas and Cuenca in
Ecuador.

It is not my desire to in any way over-estimate the im-
portance of the results obtained by the work conducted in
this territory. Accurate analysis of these results is, of
course, impossible. Yet it can not be denied that, as a result
of the few months intensive work undertaken by the com-
mittee in this field, the mass of people in all sections of the
country have acquired a far more graphic and comprehen-
sive idea of the power and position of the United States, as
well as the policies and ideals of the American people, than
they ever had before. These conceptions could not possibly
have been obtained through ordinary channels, and it is safe
to say that the Peruvians and their neighbors have a much
clearer idea of the war efforts and achievements of the
States than they have of the efforts and achievements of
any of our European allies, though the latter were engaged
in the war for a much longer period. This clearer concep-
tion is due almost wholly to Compub activities, for other
agencies of intercommunication made no radical departure
in their established policies to meet the radically altered
conditions.

REPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION. 285

What I regard as concrete evidence of some of the state-
ments made in the above paragraph is supplied by the mag-
nificient response of Lima, a city of less than 200,000 inhabi-
tants, to the fourth Liberty loan, with a total of $700,000.
Lima is far from being a wealthy city, and this subscription
was $400,000 more than the maximum set by the committee
in charge of the sale of bonds. But the investing public here
had become thoroughly convinced of the boundless resources
and impregnable economic strength of the States. They
could not evade absorbing that impression. The committee
photographs setting forth American industrial resources
were constantly surrounded by interesting crowds, while the
morning and afternoon papers invariably carried their
columns of supplementary data. As a first-hand observer
of Latin American opinion during the past few years I
would say that the old conception of the United States held
in 1913, an admixture of Mexican and Colombian suspicions
and general distrust, has given entirely away in 1919 to a
wholly new conception and realization of the full magnitude
of American power and policy.

Wire and Wireless Distribution of Compub News.

The most important and perhaps the most influential fea-
ture of the Compub service from the point of view of this
particular field was the daily cable service. Owing to ar-
rangements effected by cable, railway telegraph, and wireless
communication, two trunk systems were thrown out from the
central office in Lima, covering a wide stretch of territory at
a very low cost.

The first system was south from Lima, wireless messages
being filed at the San Chri^tobal (Lima) radiographic sta-
tion, which were picked up by the Cachendo wireless sta-
tion, located near Arequipa on the Southern Railway of
Peru. Through arrangement with Mr. L. S. Blaisdell, mana-
ger of the Southern, an experienced telegraph operator re-
ceived the messages from the State wireless service and sent
them out over the railway telegraph line to Mollendo, Cuzco,
Arequipa, Puno, and La Paz, and intermediate points. At all
of these points the messages were given full publicity. Ar-
rangements were being made for a further extension of this
southern trunk line by sending out the messages from La Paz

286 REPOET COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATIOl^'.

over all of the Bolivian railway telegraph lines, but owing-
to the signing of the armistice shortly after this office was
opened and the falling off of cable service no regular service
was ever established on the Bolivian railways, though many
of the more important messages were given publicity^
throughout Bolivia in this manner.

The second line was north from Lima, by Central & South
American Cable Co., to Payta, Peru, and Guayaquil, Ecua-
dor. At the latter point the messages were filed free of
charge on the Guayaquil & Quito Railway telegraph line to-
Quito, Ecuador, and intermediate points.

The subagents cooperating with this office on the southern
line wire service were Mr. L. S. Blaisdell, manager of the:
Southern Railway, at Arequipa, and Mr. Victor Tyree, of
Denniston & Co., at La Paz.

Those cooperating with this office on the northern wire
service were Mr. C. W. Copeland, of the American consulate,.
Guayaquil, and Prof. E. S. Brown, of the Allied committee
at Quito. Expenditure in connection with this service is
duly set forth in the accounts of the Lima office, which have
been submitted.

By means of the foregoing service, the daily cables of the
committee were distributed and published in all of the
more important daily newspapers of Peru, Bolivia, and
Ecuador,

As noted in the report of November 25th,, the following
papers received the direct telegraph service.

In Peru,

Lima : El Comercio, La Prensa, La Cronica, La Ley, El Tiempo^

* Piura ; El Deber.

* Cajamarca : El Heraldo, El Perrocarril,
♦Chiclayo: El Progreso, El Bien Agricola.

* Ferrefiaf e : Le Epoca.

* Trujillo : El Deber, La Libertad.

* Huancayo : La Voz.

* Cafiete : La Tarde.

* Chinclia Alta : La Union.

* Ica : El Heraldo, El Tiempo.
Mollendo : La Patria, El Portefio.
Arequipa r El Heraldo.

Puno: El Siglo.

Note. — Papers indicated thus (*) received their service from a Lima
correspondent who was given copies of .the Compub cables. They paid their
own telegraph tolls.

BEPORT COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORM ATIOIsT. 287

In Ecuador, *

Guayaquil: El Guante, El Tiempo, El Indipendiente, El Diario
Ilustrado.

Quito : El Comercio, La Nacion, El Dia.
Riobamba : Los Andes.
Bahia: El Globo.

In Bolivia.
La* Paz: El Diario, El Tiempo.

Both in Ecuador and Bolivia the telegraphic news reached
more papers than those listed above, but definite lists have
never been received from the agents. The armistice in No-
vember and the closure of the Compub offices in January,
together with the practical abandonment of daily cable serv-
ice in December, tended to lessen the enthusiasm of our out-
side agents, whose seirvices were largely voluntary, Messrs.
Tyree, Copeland, and Brown merely being paid a small
monthly sum to cover incidental expenses. As I advised in
my previous report, organization of Compub work in Ecua-
dor and Bolivia to the same degree it was organized in
Peru would have necessitated a personal visit to both these
countries.

In addition to the newspapers, there were many small
communities, particularly mining camps, along the line of
the Central Railway of Peru, where no newspapers existed,
but where this telegraphic news was received and placed on
bulletin boards. The same condition applied to the South-
ern Eailway system in southern Peru and the Guayaquil &
Quito Eailway in Ecuador, o^-er which Compub telegrams
w;ere transmitted.

The handling of these north and south wire reports took
up no small portion of the time of myself and my assistant,
Mr. E. A. Le Eoux. This work, together with the full serv-
ice of every description given to the Lima newspapers, pre-
vented us from taking up as comprehensively as could be de-
sired the numerous suggestions and queries which came in
constantly from the various sections of the committee at
Washington and New York.

288 KEPORT COMMITTEE OHf PUBLIC INFORMATIOK.

MAHi NEWS.

All of the newspapers above listed received the mail news
service regularly. The papers of La Paz, Lima, Quito, and
Guayaquil were supplied with the full service, the smaller
provincial papers receiving generally alternate sets of mail
matter. All of the mail matter was distributed direct from
the Lima office for central and northern Peru, and elsewhere
by Messrs* Blaisdell from Arequipa, Tyree from La Paz,
Copeland from Guayaquil, and Brown from Quito.

PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTIOX.

As stated in the previous report of the pamphlets re-
ceived by this office for distribution some 40 per cent were
retained in Peru, 30 per cent shipped to Ecuador, and 30
per cent shipped to Bolivia. Of the amount retained in
Peru practically all were sent into the smaller towns and
provinces. This was owing to the fact that in the metro-
politan centers the daily press and other abundant reading
material nullified to a considerable degree the propaganda
value of the pamphlet; whereas in the provinces reading
matter is exceedingly scarce and difficult to secure and even
patent-medicine almanacs are read religiously through. My
experience has been that even the most attractive pamphlets,
though they may be carefully conserved by their recipients,
are rarely if ever read through in the metropolitan centers.
Vast sums of money were spent by British propaganda on
costly lithographed pamphlets, but it is now generally ad-
mitted that this money was inadvisably spent and that
more effective results could have been secured by other
means. Were it not for the provincial outlet, I personally
.would have adA'ised the suspension of pamphlet distribu-
tion. It might have reached the mark in a few individunl
cases, but in Lima Avidespread pamphlet distribution would
have done more harm than good. For four years pamphlets,
British, French, Belgian, and German, had been raining
from the heavens, the public were surfeited with them, and
pamphlets were actually creating prejudice against their
distributors.

EEPOET COMMITTEE OIT PUBLIC INFOBMATIOK. 289'

PHOTOGRAPHIC SERVICE.

This was, beyond question, one of the most effective divi-
sions of Compub activities. The appeal of the picture serv-
ice was instantaneous, not so much to the press, as to the
general public. It has been my experience that average news-
paper illustrations do not hold a reader's attention very long,
while high quality engravings or preferably original photo-
graphs catch and hold the eye of people in every walk of
society. Certainly the 12 bulletin boards which we placed
throughout Lima, each carrying 40 to 50 photographs, were
never lacking an audience. This system of photographic dis-
tribution was highly satisfactory in its results. After rotat-
ing on the 12 Lima boards, sets of photographs were sent up
the line of the Central Railway to be shown at the various
stations and camps, and were also sent out into the provinces
and were kept track of until lost or worn out. , In this man-
ner each photograph passed before several thousand pairs of
eyes, while out of the abundant supply the newspapers were
provided with all they could use. The wastage in photo-
graphic publicity material was therefore practically nil. The
poster reproduction of photographs with Spanish captions
were also exceedingly popular and permitted us to reach
certain provincial districts where the use of photographs
would have been prohibitive from the viewpoint of cost.
All of the photographic enlargements were suitably framed
^lid after being exhibited for several weeks in shop windows
were distributed among various leading clubs and other in-
stitutions.

This report is in many respects merely a revision of my re-
port of November 25, but as the offices were in operation for
only two months after that report was made the limited addi-
tional experience has not tended ±o alter materially the out-
look I then had. The keynote of this office has been " efficient
distribution," and more attention has been devoted to the busi-
ness of keeping the material moving to the ultimate con-
sumer — ^the press and the public — ^than to any other factor
in the situation. There was very little to criticise in the
material sent out from the States — ^nothing, in fact, that I
can recall at the present time.

121033—20 19

290 REPORT COMMITTEE OK PUBLIC INFORMATION"

Other Work in South America.

The activities of the Committee on Public Information in
other South American countries followed the same lines as
those described by Mr. Sevier and Mr. Griffis. The com-
mittee's representatives were:

Brazil: Hon, Edwin V. Morgan, United States ambassador.

Chile: A. A. Preciado.

Panama, Costa Rica, Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Colombia:
S. P. Verner.

Venezuela: Hon. Emil Sauer, Maracaibo, and the Hon. Preston
McGoodwin, American minister, Caracas, Venezuela.

To all of these is due a debt of appreciation for work
faithfully, brilliantly, and effectively performed.

Work in Sweden and ISToRWAr.

Mr. Eric H. Palmer was the commissioner of the Commit-
tee on Public Information for both Sweden and Norway, and
the results achieved were remarkable for the completeness
oi their success. Mr. Guy Crosswell Smith, after inaugurat-
ing the film campaign in Eussia, was appointed director of
films for all Scandinavian countries and was the directing
genius in the campaign that eliminated the German propa-
ganda film.

Respectfully submitted.

GEOEGE CEEEL,

Chairman.

In compliance with Section 108 of the

Copyright Revision Act of 1976,
The Ohio State University Libraries
has produced this facsimile on permanent/durable
paper to replace the deteriorated original volume
owned by the Libraries. Facsimile created by
Acme Bookbinding, Charlestown, MA

The paper used in this publication meets the

minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information
Sciences - Permanence for Printed Library

2001

Materials,
ANSIZ39.48-1992.

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